Just Play The Game A Little Longer
by MR.EFFiction
Summary: A story that was originally an Eff and D-boy pairing roleplay; now heavily edited and corrected to be posted as a fic. Mr. Eff and D-boy have become human by an unknown supernatural force. They find themselves in Johnny's house, but while Nny is gone, their Master isn't. Bound to the house with only each other for company, will the human Doughboys find a way to get along?
1. I Give Up

D-boy paced back and forth within the dark confines of one of the many basement floors, his arms crossed and his shoulders hunched. Mr. Eff had been pestering him all week, trying to steer him away from his only desire, and he was absolutely sick of it. Why was Mr. Eff ever so determined to keep him alive? What reasoning would he have? What purpose? It made no sense!

Why would he want him to see the 'beauty' of the world when they were both everything wrong with it? Why, why, _WHY_?!

He slammed his fists against the wall in anger just thinking about it, he was so confused. He hated being confused, and Mr. Eff certainly wasn't helping.

He sighed and dragged his hands down the wall, the old, dried-out wood scratching against his gloves. Until his master was freed, he'd be stuck here, dealing with his younger counterpart. He hated this knowledge more than life itself.

Being human should be more fun than this. What Eff had dreamed of before was nothing like this. In fact, his dream had died when Nny idiotically shot himself in the head a while back. If only Nny had stayed alive a little longer... Eff could have left him and his utterly depressing counterpart with his 'master' behind the wall. He could have been free to be human. Free from his master.

Even though he was human now, he could hardly call this freedom. Nny was gone. There was no one to order around to paint the wall. Now Eff had to do all of this by himself.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if D-Boy wasn't constantly trying to stop him. His ridiculous rants of depression and suicide were annoying. How he always tried to stop him from painting the wall was a pain. Eff couldn't count how many times D-Boy dumped the buckets of blood on the floor so he couldn't use it to paint. It wasn't exactly easy to get that blood either!

Eff was constantly busy. Whether it was catching idiots off the streets for blood, or dealing with D-Boy, Eff sure did have his hands full. It seemed he hardly had any time to relax or make toast. It was irritating to no ends too! Why can't D-Boy lighten up for a change and enjoy life? If Eff had D-Boy on his side, the work wouldn't be so tedious. Hell, maybe they could even find Nny, make him do the work and go out and be free.

But no! D-Boy insists on being a sad little shit, and he's even trying to make him depressed as well! Eff refused to fall into a senseless depression. No! He was going to be happy, damnit! Even if he did have to paint the wall and argue with D-Boy on a daily basis he was going to be happy! Life was great! Being human was great! He could feel, taste, and do things on his own! God, those were good reasons to be happy by themselves. And D-Boy seemed to hate all those things! How idiotic can he be?!

...Whatever. Eff will get D-Boy to enjoy life one way or another, or at least die trying. Although dying wasn't really on his list of things to do. Despite all the work he had to do, Eff wanted to get his mind off of the recent fight he had with D-Boy. He didn't want those god awful words to sink into his head and make him sad. He will never let such words get to him!

TV was a great distraction. It even had happy and hilarious things on it. Like stupid shows and movies and cartoons and comedies and cooking shows and chick flicks. Eff was on the couch watching the crappy, yet still working television set.

Currently there was some movie on the screen. It must be something cheerful or funny, judging by the smile Eff had on his face. Eff liked watching movies, mostly because they were longer than normal shows and easier to get into and had interesting stories. They also seemed to help him grasp ideas of what normal humans did every day. Or at least they taught some sort of lesson and some human morals... most of the time.

D-boy's fuming began to slowly simmer down, and he attempted to help it along by taking deep breaths. Eventually he felt tired out from the bombardment of anger, and the misery began to set in. He never minded the feeling of depression before, but now as a human, with a brain that worked his feelings around like gears through his body, it felt so much more... intense.

It felt like the feeling was slithering through his veins, and he was being crushed slowly with his own thoughts. His limbs drooped as he sloped down against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

God he hated this house. Sure, he'd barely been anywhere else, but how could he ever enjoy anything like Eff begged him to when this fucking house existed. If it wasn't for this house, this _lock_ being built around his Master, he would've never existed. He would've never been needed in the first place! But no, the world was a cruel, cruel place, and here he was.

A suicidal styrofoam doll made by a psychopathic young man controlled by an incomprehensible creature of chaos who was somehow magically turned into a human when the crazy man died, thus leaving him- the one who only ever wanted to DIE- to remain alive.

What a wonderful fuckin' world indeed, Mr. Eff.

D-boy actually wanted to _remain_ livid as he felt the tears begin to well up in his eyes.

Eff's smile faded a little when credits appeared on the screen. Oh, right. Movies had endings. He had to take a moment to figure out what he should do now that the movie was over. Should he watch another movie? No... He couldn't sit on this couch all day. There would be consequences. Like D-Boy getting too depressed and trying to kill himself, and the wall getting too soft from the lack of attention.

Eff sighed; disappointed he couldn't watch another movie. He grabbed the remote next to him so he could turn it off. As he grabbed the remote though, he noticed the plate he had next to him. Eff remembered he had made toast to eat while watching the movie. There was still a piece left, surprisingly.

Eff turned off the TV and grabbed the piece of toast. He then paused. It was quiet without the TV on; too quiet. What was D-Boy doing? Usually Eff could hear him being angry or throwing a fit of some sort. God he must be depressed somewhere, crying his eyes out of his sockets.

While Eff still loathed his counterpart, he still had to convince him life was still worth living. He tried so hard to be nice and show D-Boy reasons to smile, but all his attempts always ended in some sort of argument.

Eff put the piece of toast back down on the plate and picked it up as he stood. He was convinced that food helped with depression, as toast always put a smile on his face, despite how simple a food it was. Would a piece of toast help D-Boy cheer up? Probably not, but if Eff still had to try. Besides, if D-Boy didn't want it he could eat it himself. It was win-win... sort of.

He walked around the first floor, searching for the depressing idiot. After not finding D-Boy there Eff came to the conclusion that D-Boy was somewhere in the basement. Damnit. Eff hated being in the basement if he wasn't keeping that thing trapped behind the wall. The basement was so... depressing and dark... That's probably why D-Boy was down there.

Eff rolled his eyes at the thought and headed down the basement stairs. The basement was huge, and it would be hard to find D-Boy, but Eff could easily hear his crying echoing through the hallways. It was convenient, yet sad. Eff followed this noise, and what he saw was a familiar, disappointing sight: D-Boy curled up near the floor, with tears overflowing from his eyes.

"Isn't it tiring to cry all the time, D-Boy?" He spoke up so D-Boy would know he was there, and walked over to him. "Can't you just try to be happy for a change? Being happy feels ten times greater than being depressed, I bet. Look, I even brought you a reason to smile!" Eff bent down to present the plate with piece of toast to D-Boy. "Toast! It's the greatest! And it has the butter all soaked into it, so it'll taste amazing! You're human, now, so enjoy human things; like eating toast! Come on, D-Boy!" He smiled as he described the toast, and sounded as cheerful as possible to try and get D-Boy out of his depressing state.

D-boy flinched as he heard Mr. Eff's voice, and groaned when he registered what the optimistic idiot was saying. How could he say anything to that? Had Mr. Eff ever actually _been_ depressed? It's like any knowledge of the subject just flew right over his head.

"It's not something I choose to do as a hobby, not like you'd care. Why don't you go bother someone else for one fucking day?" D-boy huffed, that was all he could manage to spit out.

He wanted to say more, so much more, he wanted to tell Mr. Eff just how horrid he felt. He wanted so badly for him to be depressed too, so maybe- just _maybe_- he might learn what it's like, and not ignore such problems one such as D-boy had to deal with. He wanted to tell Mr. Eff that you couldn't just wave around useless items and words to make someone feel better, that wasn't how it worked; that wasn't how anything worked. Nothing was that simple! Absolutely nothing! How could he even think that?

He wanted to scream so dearly, to interrogate, to explain, to drown him in the wisdom that life is a horrendous, hard thing to go through and that some people aren't as chipper and happy-go-lucky about it as he was!

He wanted to make him wake up and see reality and it's true, saddening self. He wanted to make Mr. Eff see through his eyes, if only once. He wanted to bring Mr. Eff to his level, to see what it was like being at the bottom.

But he couldn't. This day was far too tiring, and he was already exhausted from their fight earlier. What more could he want? Was his only enjoyment taken from rubbing the revolting existence of everything in D-boy's face?

Obviously, because all this was doing was making D-boy cry more.

"It's not my choice! I want you to know that, none of this was my choice..." His voice was hoarse from the crying, everything was just painful. He wanted Mr. Eff to leave, and he wanted to just die right now. He wanted it to end.

Dear. God. How he wanted it all to just end...

Eff lifted a brow. "Go bother someone else?" Well, that was a stupid suggestion. "Look around, D-Boy; there isn't anyone else to bother." They were alone in this house now. Nny was gone, and the victims Eff used for the wall die the moment they were tossed in the miserable basement.

Unlike the maniac, Eff didn't interrogate his victims. He just slaughtered them for blood for the wall. It was easier, faster, and much more fun that way.

D-Boy was right. Eff hadn't had a clue what it was like to be depressed. Eff always denied the feeling and found something to be happy about. Even if it was something as simple as toast, Eff could find a reason to smile. So why couldn't D-Boy? If D-Boy just _tried_ surely he would want to stay happy forever.

Eff frowned seeing that he wasn't cheering D-Boy up one bit. In fact, it looked like he was making him cry even more. He withdrew the plate from D-Boy, since he obviously wasn't going to accept the toast and stood straight up again.

"It wasn't your choice to be so pathetically depressed?" He asked. Is that what D-Boy meant? Eff wasn't sure, and he didn't care about fully understanding D-Boy's sad babbling. "Why not chose to be happy for once? Just for one day? It's not going to kill you!" Although if being happy did kill D-Boy, he wouldn't be surprised.

Eff wasn't going to stand for this anymore! He had to be more aggressive if he was ever going to get D-Boy on his side! Eff then grabbed D-Boy's arm to pull him up to his feet. "Get up! Wipe those tears! There's nothing to be sad about! We're human, and we can do so many things, yet you sit down here in the stupid basement sobbing over your existence when you should be overjoyed!" Eff told D-Boy, hoping his words would get through his counterpart's thick skull.

D-boy jerked his arm away from Mr. Eff the moment he was standing upright, and a dark scowl appeared upon his face. "You don't get it..." He hissed, "You'll never fucking get it, Mr. Eff! I don't care how whiny or pathetic I sound to you, it is not. That. Simple. You.. You can't just be all la-dee-da all day for the rest of your fucking life, you know?! Maybe for you, but for me, it takes time! You want me to smile? You want me to be happy? You want me to be the embodiment of your disgusting, oblivious self? Well then, GO FUCKING _KILL_ _YOURSELF_!" He screeched, his voice nearly cracking. He couldn't hold it in, he had to say something, even if it did make his throat feel like it was filled with sawdust.

He was shaking terribly, his glare firm on Mr. Eff. Just looking at him made his blood boil, that naive little brat didn't know shit! He just couldn't handle how much he hated Mr. Eff's ignorance, whether it was natural or practiced.

He hated Mr. Eff just so much, he just... he just wanted to...

D-boy froze. Was he actually thinking of murder? No, that was preposterous! Killing others was only what the weak ones did, who never wanted to look at the real problem, so they destroyed anyone else that they figured to be the target of their own issues. He could never murder anyone, it was beyond degrading! Such an irrational animalistic instinct, he refused to ever act upon it.

But... But he hated Mr. Eff so fucking _much_. It would make everything so much easier with him out of the way, all he'd have to do was sit around and wait!

He didn't want to take that route though; he denied it as even an option! He wasn't homicidal, right? He wasn't a maniac... _Right_?

Eff expected D-Boy to say such depressing things, but how he yelled and screeched at the end... Ugh! This was just so sad! D-Boy's words were powerful. They always were. After all, D-Boy made suicide sound like a fucking party to Nny so many times. Eff could feel depression trying to seduce him, but he would simply not allow such sadness to tempt him. Instead he returned the glare, and turned whatever possible sadness that might be brewing inside him into anger.

D-Boy was just so infuriating! What the fuck was so hard about being joyful! Even a faked smile would do D-Boy some good! But despite his anger, despite how he wanted to yell back at D-Boy, Eff's words were at a loss. Just... just how do you respond to something like that?

Maybe picking a second fight with D-Boy was a bad idea. Depression was so god damn infectious. Eff should really go out and have fun and slaughter more people.

"...What is there to get?!" Eff had to really push himself to say something. He couldn't let D-Boy get under his skin. He couldn't let D-Boy win. "It's not like depression makes you feel fucking great, I mean LOOK AT YOU! Always crying and moping around! Wanting something as _stupid_ as death! Maybe YOU don't get it! There is so much more to life than the end, D-Boy! There is so much to enjoy!" He argued back with a growl. "A reason to be happy could be right in front of you damned face, and you would never see it because your blinded by your pointless tears!"

Eff obviously didn't fully understand D-Boy's words, or refused to understand in order to resist the god awful feeling of depression. And it seemed like D-Boy wasn't going to understand his words anytime soon either.

Sometimes it was tempting to just... do away with D-Boy, but honestly Eff didn't want to be alone with the stupid wall. He wanted D-Boy's help. He wanted D-Boy to enjoy life so he WOULD help. God, why can't life be perfect like in those movies he watched? Everything seemed to work out on TV, yet here with D-Boy, it seemed like Eff and D-Boy constantly circled around their points and never bothered to listen to each other. D-Boy won't even try to be happy and Eff denied all feelings of depression. God, were they going to fight like this forever? There had to be something Eff could do to end this quarrel and get D-Boy on his side... but what?

D-boy was sick of this. He was sick of yelling, he was sick of listening, he was sick of uselessly fighting, he was just sick of _everything_. He was too drained to do anything at this point; he used it all up to the point that he was physically sore. What was the reasoning of this all, anyways? Screaming at one another until the other breaks? It was so unbelievably useless. He couldn't take this. At least for now, it had to stop.

"That's it." His voice was quiet, but stern. He inhaled deeply before continuing. "I give up, okay? I give up. I am sick and tired of our bantering, it's not like we'll ever get through to each other. I know you don't understand, and that you never will, but please..." He choked back the upcoming tears; he just needed to finish this one sentence, that's all. "... Please, just leave me be. I am _begging_ you, Mr. Fuck. Leave me alone. I can't take this anymore!" He was disgusted with himself, how could he give up like _that_? So pitifully. How could he be so unbelievably desperate?! Mr. Eff would never, ever let him live this down, and neither would himself.

And yet, he didn't care. He began walking wearily back up the stairs, too ashamed with himself to even turn to Mr. Eff as he left.

Honestly Eff had to resist the urge to flinch when D-Boy said 'that's it'. He expected a more... dramatic reaction than what he got, which was why he was surprised to hear the words 'I give up' come out of D-Boy's mouth.

While D-Boy was still being negative, the fact that he said he was giving up felt like a victory. "Alright, D-Boy, fine. I'll leave you be..." He chuckled lightly. Eff couldn't help but to smirk. He could push D-Boy a little more, and just see how much it would take for his words to really sink in but... enough was enough for today. D-Boy had already given up and pathetically begged for him to leave him be.

Besides, Eff had other things to do today. He couldn't just babysit D-Boy all day, trying to convince him to cheer up. While he would rather head up the stairs and get out of the basement, Eff didn't want to make it seem like he was following D-Boy to mess with him some more. So instead he went in the other direction, deeper into the basement. He munched on the toast D-Boy had foolishly rejected as he walked.

Hm... what could he do down here? Oh! He still had some people 'stored' in the same room as that damn wall. It looked like D-Boy wasn't going to bother him for the rest of the day, so Eff thought now would be a great time to get some work done and put a thick layer of blood on the wall. Excellent. Today was going to be more productive than planned.

D-boy trudged into the living room and leaned against the couch, his arms folded overtop of it to support his head.

He stood there for awhile, his tears finally dried up and his anger died down, but he was left with the most horrid headache. It probably wasn't the best to be thinking with such a thing going on, but he couldn't get Mr. Eff's or his own words out of his mind.

That was so needlessly embarrassing, he didn't _need_ to give up, and he didn't even want to, but what else could he have done? Sit there and argue with Mr. Eff until he fell unconscious from tiredness? Nonsense; that would be worse! At least if Mr. Eff complied, this would give him some time to clear his head and relax, something he had yet to be able to do.

From the moment he became human, he was determined to complete his task of keeping the wall from being painted, which was far worse with Mr. Eff than it ever was with their previous host. Johnny was easier to control, he obeyed, and at times he wouldn't even listen to Mr. Eff, only to D-boy. Those were the very few moments of joy in his life, when he thought it was finally going to be the end.

But no, Mr. Eff was nothing like Johnny.

Mr. Eff was unwavering and gritty, he was passionate with what he did and yet he was like a machine with how unstoppable he was. It was always go, go, go with him. He had a will of steel, and was as stubborn as D-boy himself.

D-boy never would want to admit it, but he found those traits so... admirable! He wished he could be so efficient in his work, but no, he just cried his goddamn eyes out and fucking gave up because he felt enervated. How much more mortifying could this day get?

He groaned and made his way to the bedroom, hoping Mr. Eff hadn't drenched it in blood. He couldn't handle being awake right now; he wanted this whole day to end already.

As Eff walked into a rather familiar room, he put a plate down on top of a wooden box. There were other plates there as well. Obviously it wasn't the first time he had eaten something on his way to do his job. He didn't really bother cleaning after himself either. Why should he anyways? It was a waste of time, and this house was already a shit hole. No one could make this place look the slightest bit of nice without tearing it down and rebuilding it. There were too many bloodstains and cracks and dead things.

Eff then grabbed an empty bucket and a knife off of the one of the side walls. He gave one of the poor victims the most uncomfortable grin. This victim was female, and if her mouth wasn't duct taped shut surely she would be screaming or begging. In fact all the victims in the room had their mouths taped shut. Eff quickly got sick of their noise, and it was nicer to work without all the begging and hysterical crying and yelling.

Unlike Nny, Eff didn't have a way of choosing his victims. He just picked whoever. He didn't give a damn who they were or what they did. Really the only kind of people he didn't drag down to the basement were kids, but that's mostly because they didn't have as much blood. It had nothing to do with their innocence or how 'they were the future' or some nonsense like that. For all Eff cared for, every person was not a person, but just a supply of blood for the wall. He literally had no mercy.

Eff placed the bucket underneath the woman to catch the blood. He enjoyed the look of horror on her face as he sliced her open and showed her organs to her. Eff burst out laughing. God! The looks on their faces were always hilarious! He sliced her neck open as well, to allow more blood to exit her body and fall into the bucket. It's too bad humans didn't live too long after their blood and organs were removed. It would be so fun to be able to mess with them some more.

Once the bucket was filled Eff picked it up and went over to the wall he hated most. It was still wet from previous coats of blood, but some parts were already drying and turning a disgusting brown.

With the wall Nny was always careful and painted it slowly as if it were a canvas, but Eff? The only thing he cared about was getting the wall covered. He grabbed a nearby brush and used it to practically fling the blood onto the wall. Occasionally he would pause to spread the blood out a little, making sure not to miss any areas.

As Eff 'painted' his mind wandered a little. As it did often, his thoughts went to D-Boy. How frustrating he was. Eff hadn't even gotten D-Boy to smile even once. They always just fought and argued. It was tiring at times, but Eff was determined to get to D-Boy sooner or later. If only D-Boy was more like Nny. What an easy man he was to control. The mere mention of a Brainfreezy would cheer him right up. Sure, he did listen to D-Boy sometimes, but it was always so easy to get him to disagree with his counterpart when Eff pretended to be his friend.

But with D-Boy it didn't matter how much toast he made or what he put on the toast. It didn't matter how nice he made life sound, how many reason he gave D-Boy to smile he always just cried more and argued. D-Boy was stupidly loyal to the thing behind the wall and permanently depressed.

Maybe... maybe if Eff acted more friendly to D-Boy...? Maybe if he pretended to like him more he could finally get D-boy to agree with him? But he hated him so much! There had to be some other way. ...Whatever. He'll worry about it tomorrow, when he had to deal with D-Boy again. Now was time to work on the wall.

Eff easily lost track of the time by filling buckets with blood and throwing the blood onto the wall, and eventually made a sloppy, thick coat of 'paint' on it.

D-boy tossed and turned on the uncomfortable bed, the blanket was extremely itchy and the bed creaked with every bit of movement, not at all helping him with his headache. Alas, it was the only bed in the whole house, so he couldn't really complain. Not that that ever stopped him before.

The familiar sordid sounds arising from beneath the floorboards was the worst, though. He knew what Mr. Eff was doing, he'd seen it, and the images flashed within his mind at every noise, forcing bile more and more up his throat from disgust. He rolled over onto his stomach and slammed the pillow over his head, pleading that Mr. Eff would stop soon.

His body and mind fought on whether he'd conk out from drowsiness or not, but slowly and surely, his body's exhaustion won. His eyes fluttered lightly before closing, and the tensity in his body ceased as he drifted off into the first sleep he'd had in weeks.


	2. Let's Talk, Shall We?

It was the next morning before Eff left the basement and returned to the first floor. It wasn't like keeping that wall covered with blood was an easy task, and sometimes he just had too much fun slaughtering things down there he really couldn't keep track of the time.

Oh well. Who needs sleep anyways? Sleep wasted time. There was no point to sleep. If Eff wanted to rest he could just watch TV.

Speaking of sleep, was D-Boy asleep? Eff didn't see him around when he pass through the living room to go to the kitchen. It was... quiet too. God, Eff hoped D-Boy hadn't killed himself while he was busy in the basement.

He would go check now but... morning meant breakfast... and breakfast meant toast. Eff really wanted to eat toast, and all that killing and painting in the basement made him hungry.

Often times when Eff was out getting more victims to slaughter for blood he would get bread as well. So the kitchen was literally just a place for making toast and there was plenty of bread around.

Seriously, toast was the best food on the planet. Not only was it simple to make, but you could put just about ANYTHING on it and it will taste even better! Eff didn't understand why toast never cheered D-Boy up when it was so wonderful.

Eff grabbed a new loaf of bread, taking out four slices and putting it into the toaster. Ah, the toaster... Really, this thing was more useful than D-Boy was. All D-Boy did was cry and tried to make everyone and everything just as depressed as he was. While the toaster, even though old and a little rusty, made toast. It. Made. Toast. What a perfect kitchen appliance. Really, maybe Eff should just draw a face on the toaster so it could be its friend. Hell, the toaster would make a better companion than D-Boy even without a face! Maybe the toaster even understood him better than D-Boy! God damn was this toaster great.

As the bread was being toasted Eff got out the butter and a butter knife. Sure it wasn't the most original thing to put on toast, but it tasted fantastic so Eff didn't really care. Once the bread was fully toasted, Eff eagerly put the pieces onto a plate and started spreading the butter on top of them. At least, even if D-Boy was dead, breakfast was perfect and there was toast.

D-boy awoke to the faint scent of toast, meaning it was at least morning, but he didn't want to leave the room. Really, he didn't want to leave the bed at all, and curled back up for a few more minutes, hoping he could just nod off again and not have to deal with Mr. Eff.

Realizing he wasn't able to go back to sleep, he reluctantly arose from the bed and rubbed his eyes. He felt so groggy, but at least the headache was gone. He slowly opened the door and left the bedroom, attempting to be as quiet as possible. He didn't want Mr. Eff to bother him at all, or patronize him, or whatever torment he had in mind for today. He just wanted to get through one day without having to scream until his voice cracked or cry until his eyes stung. He felt bad enough as it was from yesterday's events.

Eff already shoved a piece of toast in his mouth before he finished buttering the last piece. Really, he couldn't help himself. After chewing and swallowing that piece, and finished buttering the toast that were still on his plate, he decided to go watch a little TV. After all he was in the basement all night. This calls for some relaxing TV time.

But then, as he was heading to the living room, he saw D-Boy come out of the bedroom. Oh, so he wasn't dead? It was a relief, but now he was going to have to deal with him. He really didn't want to. It was toast time. He wanted to just eat his toast but... then he remembered what he thought about.

What if he was nice to D-Boy? Well, he was trying to be nice before, but seriously what if he was nice? Even if it was just an act, how would D-Boy respond? Would it make it easier to get D-Boy on his side? Well, with how everything usually happened around here... D-Boy would probably cry or argue about something or start a depressing rant. But if Eff didn't try, he would never know, and it was about time he changed tactics anyways. He was getting nowhere with how he was fighting with D-Boy before.

Despite how much he didn't want to, Eff walked up to D-Boy and held out the plate. He fought the urge to say anything like 'the toast will make you happy and you should smile because toast is great' and just simply offer the breakfast food. "...Do you want some toast, D-Boy?" It was almost hard to say those words, but Eff even managed a smile. It was his toast, but... he could always make more he supposed. And it was more likely than not, D-Boy was going to reject the toast. So there wasn't really much to worry about.

D-boy blinked, slight disappointment in that Mr. Eff didn't seem to understand the words 'leave me alone', but slight hope in that maybe his over-activeness made him forget last night. It had been quite some time since D-boy ate, what with his stomach growling at him as he eyed Mr. Eff's baked pride and joy.

He hesitantly took the toast and nibbled at it, expecting to be injected with poison or blades or _something_. "Um... Thanks." He mumbled through the toast, nearly biting his tongue in the process. He waited patiently for Mr. Eff to start blurting out 'good this is great toast is the source of happiness' or 'wouldn't it be great to be happy you should try being happy happiness is great I love being happy', pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. He didn't say anything; he just stood there and smiled with his toast. His silence was rather comforting and disconcerting, and D-boy continued expecting either physical or verbal weapons any moment now.

Eff was baffled. Not only did D-Boy take the toast, but he didn't say anything depressing! Just... 'thanks'? Holy shit, this was not what Eff was expecting at all. He waited for a moment, expecting D-Boy to say _something_ depressing like 'oh my god this toast made me bite my tongue I want to die why does everything want to hurt me', but D-Boy didn't say anything. Eff didn't know what to do next. What should he say now? Oh god, what was the right thing to say? Oh... wait. It was obvious.

"You're welcome." It. Was. So. Difficult. He really wanted to try and say something to cheer D-Boy up, but he knew from past experience that had the opposite effect. To prevent himself from breaking and saying something that would upset D-Boy, he just took another piece of toast off the plate and shoved it in his mouth. Thank god for toast. Was there anything toast couldn't do?

Maybe now that D-Boy had eaten toast he would realize how great it was on his own and smile about it... No... That wasn't going to happen, but Eff could only hope.

D-boy wondered, was Mr. Eff being considerate? Not his idiotic, blatant lying attempts, but _actually_ considerate? Maybe, they had gone a whole minute without fighting. This thought made him feel... less depressed.

He wasn't sure what to do now, should he stay with Mr. Eff? Should he leave? It wasn't like he had anything to do...

This was the most awkward moment of his human life. Eff felt so out of sorts without having to actually listen to anything depressing come out of D-Boy, or saying something cheerful himself. There was no fighting right now. He didn't think it was possible. How long could this last? The... neutral-ness...

D-Boy didn't seem to want the last piece of toast, so Eff withdrew the plate to claim it himself. He turned to go to the living room, remembering that he was going to watch some TV before he saw D-Boy. Eff wondered if he could open his mouth again without saying something that would anger D-Boy. It was just... so weird, yet interesting not to fight with his counterpart.

"Do you want to watch TV?" Eff asked before walking to the living room. Did D-Boy even watch TV? Eff never saw him watch TV before... He bet D-Boy like all the depressing shit that he'd occasionally see while flipping through the channels trying to find something funny or happy.

Eff didn't really wait for D-Boy's answer, not really sure if he would answer, and went ahead and sat on the couch, grabbing the remote to turn the TV on.

D-boy was puzzled. Mr. Eff... _wanted_ him around? That was strange- no, that was beyond strange! Nevertheless, he nodded and followed along, plopping himself onto the couch. His gaze was on the television but he wasn't paying attention to anything on it, it all seemed like useless junk made for people to waste their time when they should be doing productive things. Like killing themselves.

Although his eyes were towards the screen, his attention was towards Mr. Eff. The two had barely spoken to each other, and although it was exceptionally relieving, he couldn't help but feel suspicious. Mr. Eff didn't talk much in general, but they usually had _something_ to bitch about, he had to be up to something! But what? What could he be hiding? What would the point of hiding it be? He gritted his teeth, the uncertainty making him feel incredibly uncomfortable. He wanted to say something, or ask something, but at the same time he didn't want to ruin this once-in-a-life-time moment.

Eff didn't really change the channels too much. He just quickly found some movie that didn't look depressing and started to watch it. Well... he tried to watch it. Really he was watching D-Boy with his peripheral vision. It was just... so... so... weird to have D-Boy around. No. It was weird not to be fighting with D-Boy WHILE he was around.

And yet... even though it was strange, it was sort of nice not fighting with D-Boy. A relief. It was like a break. Eff smiled a little, keeping his eyes on the TV. This was just great! This is EXACTLY how he could get D-Boy on his side. By NOT fighting! How did he not come up with this idea sooner? And what was even better, D-Boy wasn't saying a thing. Not one depressing little thing. It was just... so amazing. Maybe even whatever happy movie was on the screen would get D-Boy to cheer up too? ...Well, let's not get carried away. One step at a time. Honestly, Eff wanted to say something, but he kept silently smiling at the TV. This moment needed to last a little longer before he risked ruining it forever.

D-boy wasn't sure if this situation was getting calm or awkward, he wanted to leave but he wanted to stay. Oh, why did he have to get out of bed today? What should- or _could_- he do? Why couldn't he just take a breather for once and stop freaking out over the slightest things? Mr. Eff was right, why couldn't he just be ha-

He felt like his heart nearly stopped.

Did... did he actually think that?

How could he?! How could he betray _himself_?!

That was preposterous, if he was meant to be happy, he would be! But he wasn't, that's just how things were! He wasn't sure how to feel about this moment, but he knew it had to stop. He immediately flung himself up and stormed off towards the front door, slamming it open and leaving as fast as he could.

How could he let that though seep into his mind? Mr. Eff was wrong, he always was! He knew nothing about anything, and lived in his own little make-believe world where everything was cheerful and jolly and had no consequences, his advice could never be trusted, and it was complete babble. It wasn't even advice! He just shouted out and shoved his opinions down D-boy's throat without one thought on how he may feel- on how it would _make_ him feel!

But, then again...

Wasn't that what D-boy did to him, too?

Just as Eff thought they could stay like this for maybe an hour, D-Boy got up. Well... so much for that. All hopes of keeping this rare moment longer were thrown away.

"D-Boy?" He watched his counterpart storm off to the front door, giving a confused look. God, he didn't even do anything and D-Boy was leaving! Eff nearly pushed himself off the couch to run after D-Boy. He almost shouted for him to wait. But he paused. He hesitated. He stopped half way off the couch, leaning forward a little. Did he... really want D-Boy around? Sure, not fighting was nice, but it was only a matter of time before either he said something to upset D-Boy or D-Boy said something that would upset him.

With a huff Eff sat back onto the couch. It was best to let D-Boy go. He grabbed the last piece of toast he had, a little frustrated that D-Boy left. He thought, glaring at the TV a little as he chewed the toast, wondering if there was something he could have done to prevent D-Boy from leaving. Eff wasn't sure. Maybe D-Boy didn't like not fighting? But didn't he say he gave up yesterday? So obviously he didn't want to fight. Maybe D-Boy just didn't know how not to fight. The situation was awkward after all... if this was going to happen again, it would take several more tries before it felt... not so awkward.

D-boy continued to walk aimlessly, folding his arms and clutching onto himself. This realization was so unbelievably obvious, but he finally noticed it. Of course, the most logical solution flying right past him aimlessly. They never got along or agreed because they never thought about what the other was saying! They never, ever listened! How could he have been so blind?!

He hated the things Mr. Eff told him, but he never actually tried to think them out, and neither did he. All of their fights were literally blind rage, they never even considered what the other said to be the least bit important, and yet they wondered why they weren't getting through to the other. It all made sense, every single thing.

But would it be a good idea to listen? Maybe they weren't meant to?

Of course, they were head_voices_, not headears. They weren't even supposed to be aware in the first place, they were supposed to be puppets controlling another puppet, that was all. He couldn't delve into his emotional crisis here, he had a job to do, and by God was he going to finish it.

After Eff finished his toast he decided to finish the movie he was watching. Even though he was paying more attention to the movie now, D-Boy was still in the back of his mind. Now Eff couldn't help but to wonder... if not fighting with D-Boy made some... sort of neutral-ness, even though it was awkward... would there be any way he could push it further? There just had to be a way he could make D-Boy cheer up without pissing him off. But... what could it be...?

He sat, wondering this while watching the movie. It happened to be a romance of sorts. Eff had watched a couple of these before. In the movies sure there was a little conflict, but everything usually turned out all lovely-dovey and perfect at the end. Affection was sure a weird thing for humans. Eff had never felt it himself, but it did look like a nice feeling. It made people happy.

...Wait. It made people happy? Would a feeling like that make D-Boy happy? Of course, Eff would never feel that way towards his counterpart... but if he pretended to... maybe he could use that feeling to finally get D-Boy to understand that happiness was greater than depression. And then he will finally help him with the stupid wall and they can have more free time to make toast and everything will be perfect like in the movies!

Eff grinned at the thought. Yes! This was exactly what he should do! Well... if it worked... It wasn't going to be easy with someone like D-Boy, but hell it was worth a shot.

D-boy shivered; now that he began to slow down on his sudden little 'epiphany', the realization of the weather literally hit him.

It was pouring rain.

Great. Just great. Served him right for bursting out the door like a locomotive. He rolled his eyes and spun himself around, heading back towards the house. As if last night wasn't humiliating enough, now he just impulsively ran out the door, then waltzed right back in, soaking wet. He brushed the wet strands of hair out of his face and removed his hat, squeezing the water out of it.

He steadily made his way back to the entrance of the living room, trying not to let his steps be heard. He wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to Mr. Eff yet or not, he wanted to share what he thought, but with his spontaneous actions as of late, was it really a good idea to even mention it? Perhaps he should just keep them to himself, so he could properly go about his mission. Or, maybe, he should actually listen during their next argument?

That would probably be the best idea. If they got along, great. If not, he might actually have some proper information to back himself up on. D-boy's train of thought distracted him as he continued walking unconsciously, before slipping on the puddles of water that dripped from him.

He let out a gasp before slamming his face right onto the floorboards, letting out a loud crack from the surface. He sat up and grumbled, wiping the dust from the floor off of himself. Nothing appeared to be bleeding, but he could certainly feel a bruise across his face. This week was just getting better and better, huh?

Eff concentrated on the movie, making mental notes, remembering stupid lovey lines. Really, he didn't know why he hadn't thought of this sooner. All that fighting, and they fought for so long. Hopefully this little idea will end this war, and Eff will finally win.

He didn't notice D-Boy had come back until a loud crack was heard. His attention was broken immediately from the TV and he turned toward the source of the noise. It was D-Boy, of course. And it looked like he just fell on his face. Oh, how hard it was not to laugh. Eff had to hold his breath for a moment to prevent even the slightest giggle from escaping him.

Normally he'd just laugh. He'd probably be in tears and roll around on the floor laughing his ass off, but with his recent idea he had to act a little... different. He had to be nicer to D-Boy if he ever wanted to get him on his side.

"H-hey, D-Boy..." He finally spoke up, still trying not to laugh. "Do you need a towel?" Well of fucking course D-Boy needed a towel. He was soaked from the rain! But it was... polite to ask, right? Whatever. Without even waiting for an answer, Eff got up to go get a towel from the bathroom. He soon returned and gently tossed the towel over to D-Boy.

"D-Boy, I know you're depressing, but taking a walk in the rain is kind of overdoing it, don't you think?" Eff asked with a smirk. Oh, he couldn't resist poking a little fun at his counterpart. It was just too funny. D-Boy got caught in the rain AND tripped when he came back inside. How could Eff miss the opportunity? He just couldn't.

D-boy rubbed himself with the towel, attempting to ignore Mr. Eff's remark. Christ that was horrendous, but he still didn't know if he should speak with Mr. Eff or not. Finally he dried himself off and stood up, bundling the towels in his arms as he looked at Mr. Eff. He really did wonder what would happen if they ever got along. Would it even be possible? They were complete opposites in nearly everything, how could anything resembling something other than hate work between them, and why should he even try? What would he gain from it?

Well, Mr. Eff on his side would certainly be an achievement... It would be helpful if he just gave into their Master and released it, they'd finally be set free, separated from this mortal world. Mr. Eff wanted happiness, didn't he? Yes, and he gained his happiness from freedom. Then, why wasn't the ultimate freedom appealing to him? Maybe, if D-boy did try to calm down for once, he could figure it out. Perhaps even get Mr. Eff to like the idea!

"Mr. Eff..." He finally spoke, his eyesight downwards. "I want to talk to you about something. About us, really."

Eff waited for D-Boy to react to his comment, but he didn't. It was surprising. Honestly, he thought D-Boy would surely yell at him for such a teasing comment, but not a word was spoken. Was D-Boy really _that_ tired of fighting?

Eff continued to wait to see if D-Boy would speak up. God, this was getting awkward again. When he was finally tired of waiting and tried to say something else, that's when he heard D-Boy speak. "Oh?" Eff's curiosity was perked. "Really? What is it?" He asked. It was probably going to be one of D-Boy's depressing speeches. Eff was almost counting on it. Then he could counter with something to back his own side up, and put his pretend affection into the mix. Then maybe he will get D-Boy on his side at last. This was most certainly going to be interesting.

D-boy took a few breathers to prepare himself. He had to be convincing, but he had to be honest. If he wanted Mr. Eff to listen, he would have to try to appeal to him. "Okay, how do I put this... I had a moment of clarity! A realization, that perhaps we might have the capability of getting along! Indeedy, we just need to try. When we speak, we need to listen to each other, that's our problem! What if our spiteful words were of actual interest to each other? It would be a brilliant test, I think. What say you?"

He really hoped he sounded persuasive enough. Perhaps a smile would work, but he simply couldn't bring himself to it. He wasn't happy, he was anxious, which may have even been clear to Mr. Eff as D-boy fidgeted with the towel in his hands.

Now this was something Eff didn't expect from D-Boy: something that made sense. "So you're saying you haven't been listening to me at all when we fight?" It was just something Eff managed to pull from what D-Boy said. This would make sense since if D-Boy actually opened his ears; maybe he would have been on Eff's side already. Then again, Eff didn't really listen to D-Boy either. All he heard was 'blah blah depression blah kill yourself blahblah i want to die', and if D-Boy ever did actually say something interesting Eff simply blocked it out because he just knew it was something about giving into their master and causing suicide, which was not what he wanted to do.

"Well, it would be nice if you actually listened to me for a change, D-Boy. I suppose I could _try_ to listen to you too." Eff finally agreed. This would be a nice change of pace from their usual bickering too! Something was going to happen today, Eff just knew it, and he hoped that something would be getting D-Boy on his side.

It wasn't the reaction D-boy had wanted, but when did that ever happen? It was a start, it was good enough. But, what should they do now? Should they just... talk? D-boy never really had a calm, normal conversation before. Well, it was time to try new tactics, he _was_ rather curious after all.

"So, why _do_ you want me to be happy, anyways? I mean, besides our interactions, wouldn't it be easier to ignore me?" Well, the answer to that was obvious, wasn't it? Mr. Eff wanted to pester him as D-boy did to him. That's just how they were. Still he wondered, and he wanted to know Mr. Eff's answer, even if it was a lie. They've known each other for the longest time, they had to learn about one another sooner or later.

Yet again D-Boy surprised Eff. God, where was that depressing rant he was expecting? This was so... different. But different was good. These questions were good. And what was even better was that D-Boy was going to listen to him.

Why did Eff want D-Boy to be happy? Really it would be a relief to have him stop being so depressing and suicidal alone, but Eff wanted D-Boy's help with keeping their master trapped as well. They could have so much free time if they worked together. Of course, Eff didn't particularly care about D-Boy's freedom, but if working with D-Boy gave himself more freedom then why not? Of course, this kind of answer would sound selfish. Eff was going to have to lie a little to make this sound more appealing to D-Boy, and make it seem like he actually cared about his counterpart.

"I don't like seeing you waste your life away, D-Boy. It would be nicer to have you enjoy your existence like I enjoy mine." Eff started. He smiled as he spoke, sounding rather honest. He was so good at lying, after all. He lied to Nny so much, so lying to D-Boy was a piece of toast. "I kept bothering you, hoping that one day I would be able to get through to you. I even tried sharing my toast with you, D-Boy! I could have just kept it all to myself, but I wanted you to cheer up so much..." He paused, looking away. His smile faded a little. Was he thinking? He looked like he wanted to say something else, but was having a hard time getting himself to do so.

"...I guess another reason for my persistence would be because... well..." Eff glanced at D-Boy but quickly looked over to the side again. He acted nervous, like he was about to admit the biggest secret he had in his entire life. "I might have certain feelings for you."

D-boy thought he was listening well until those last few words broke his concentration. He was taken aback, where did that even come from? He knew Mr. Eff was fast, but... Feelings? Like _what_? Hatred, right? But if it was hatred, why would he try to cheer D-boy up? What sense would that make from Mr. Eff? Only a few sentences into the conversation and D-boy already felt bewildered and off-track.

"You... You, uh, you what?" He stuttered, blinking a few times. What else could he say? He always had at least something to retort or snap back with, but he was caught off guard by this. Was this really such a good idea to go with, at this time? "What... kind of feelings?" He asked tentatively. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he was ready for answers.

D-Boy stuttered? Well, this was new. Eff smirked internally. Obviously D-Boy was bewildered by what he had said. Eff kept acting nervous, shifting his weight from foot to foot and looking around before actually speaking up and answering. His eyes had been avoiding D-Boy, but if there was a time to look at him in the eye, it would be now. He had to convince D-Boy that he was serious when he said these words.

"D-Boy... I like you." Eff stated. He knew those mere words alone wouldn't be believable, and get another surprised reaction from D-Boy, but Eff wanted to add something more to this. He wanted to be sure that D-Boy couldn't tell he was lying. He wanted to catch D-Boy off guard even more.

"That is why I want you to be happy. So we can enjoy our existence _together_."

D-boy dropped the towel as his arms went limp, his mouth opening and closing slightly several times, trying to form words.

He what.

He _what_.

HE... _**WHAT**_?!

Mr. Eff liked him. Mr. Eff liked... **HIM**. He felt like his brain was incapable of registering the information. When did this happen? When did this even start?! Was Mr. Eff telling the truth? Did... Did someone in this world actually feel that way towards him?

He felt his face get warm as he stared in shock at Mr. Eff. How was that possible, someone not hating him? Yeah, he wanted to try and get Mr. Eff on his side, but this was more than enough. He was depression and suicide personified, how could he? How could anyone like his traits, or his personality, or anything? He made people **depressed**. It was his **purpose**. There was no way anyone could feel any less than contempt for him!

He had to be imagining this, right? He slipped on the floor; he must've banged his head too hard and fell unconscious! That had to be it, right?! What other explanation could there be? This couldn't be real; no one liked him, _especially_ Mr. Eff.

"You're lying, right?" He finally managed to ask, his voice low and quiet. That was a dumb question, of course he was! How could he not be? "You can't legitimately like me, Mr. Eff. It's unattainable! Ridiculous! Simply impossible to imagine!" He was much too frantic than he'd like to be, but he couldn't help it. His palms were sweating and he was nearly shaking in disbelief, almost wanting to refuse the information provided.

But at the same time, in the very back of his mind, he pleaded that this was reality.

D-Boy's expression was priceless, but Eff had to hold back his urge to giggle at it. He gave D-Boy a somewhat hurt look when he accused him of lying. Of course he was lying, but Eff was going to make damn sure D-Boy didn't know.

"I'm serious, D-Boy... You don't have to call my feelings 'impossible' if you can't return them." He decided to turn the tables on D-Boy, and twist his words a little. D-Boy might be incapable of feeling cheerful, but it would be interesting for Eff to find out if he can feel guilty.

"You wanted to know more about me, right? That is why you wanted to have this conversation. I wouldn't lie to you about how I felt. I thought it would be obvious that I liked you. Why would I even bother to try and get you to smile if I didn't?" He asked. Oh, this was just too perfect. D-Boy was even blushing!

Eff then let out a sigh. "I am aware that you are practically made out of depression, so it's understandable if you can't feel that way towards me..." For once in his human life Eff put on a sad expression and looked down at his feet. "I just wanted you to be aware of how I felt..." He mumbled. Pretending to be sad was actually quite easy. Eff knew what sadness looked and sounded like thanks to D-Boy.

D-boy was speechless, he could've never imagined Mr. Eff feeling or acting this way. What the Hell was going on? He wanted to say the other was lying, trying to trick him, but why would he go this far? He would be as horrified about the idea as D-boy if it was a lie, wouldn't he?

Yet he sounded so sincere, somehow. It could almost be enough to make D-boy feel guilty, but he knew he had no reason to. How could he have ever known, with all they went through, all they said?

There was nothing for him to say, nothing for him to do, it was like he was trapped in limbo. Should he scoff at Mr. Eff? Yell at him? Straight up leave?

Should he... comfort him?

He looked down and back to Mr. Eff a couple of times, debating on what to do. He had no such experience with such a situation before, much less being in it. It wasn't like he could return his feelings, he never felt that way before, especially towards Mr. Eff! The closest equivalent would be his loyalty towards his...

His Master. If he did return the feelings, what about Master? Who's side would he be on? This was all so aggravating! Why did he ever think to talk to Mr. Eff?! This was such an inane idea!

Still... The very idea that someone on this Godforsaken planet actually liked him in such a manner was beyond tempting. It was so unexpected, and he was admittedly nervous. He couldn't make a wrong move here!

But something in him made him choose the riskiest one.

D-boy cleared his throat before speaking, his eyes still refusing to look directly at Mr. Eff. "I don't know if I can feel it, I never knew affection even existed in either of us, I could've never known how you felt! But... look. I can try, okay? I can try and... well, I guess I will." His face remained heated and it was really pissing him off. The both of them looked so incredibly pathetic right now, fidgeting and darting their eyes and mumbling. But they at least had a reason, this situation was just so awkward. It was then he finally looked at Mr. Eff, and realized just how awkward this must be for _him_.

He just admitted his feelings of fondness to the most hateful and angry person he knows, and he was at his weakest of times right now. No wonder he was acting so oddly. A look of pity graced D-boy's face as he gently placed a hand on Mr. Eff's shoulder, as he almost wanted to say sorry to his younger counterpart.

As much as Eff wanted to grin hearing that D-Boy was going to try to feel affectionate back, he only allowed himself to express a relieved smile. "You'll try, D-Boy? You really will?" Eff paused when he felt D-Boy's hand on his shoulder. God damn, D-Boy was serious, and judging from the blush on D-Boy's face he believed in Eff's lie. "Thank you. It... it means a lot."

Watching all those movies paid off. Eff had all the right lines in his head, and knew how to express and act this little feeling called 'affection'. He could do more, but it might be too soon. Eff didn't want to scare D-Boy. He probably already felt beyond uncomfortable by the mere fact that Eff 'admitted' this feeling to him. Eff figured he was going to have to keep up this act. He had told D-Boy why he kept trying to cheer him up, or at least he lied about it. Maybe he should ask why D-Boy always tried to make him depressed? Of course, he already knew the answer. Something about his freeing his master and blahblah a lot of expressive depressing words. But hell, maybe he'd get something more. Maybe he'd learn something new about D-Boy.

"Well, I told you why I want you to be happy. What about you, D-Boy? Why do you try to make me feel depressed?" Eff questioned.

D-boy scratched his chin as he thought of the right words to say. Mr. Eff certainly appeared to be listening, and if he really felt this way, now was the perfect time to explain it to him! "This may sound overused, but in all honesty, I was trying to do what's best for you. If you want to be truly happy, you have to go through sadness first. Heartache, punch in the face, your ice cream fell on the floor before you could eat it. You know, mundane, dumb things like what everyone else goes through. You want to become a real human, well to be a 'real human' you have to feel all emotions at least once, and misery is one of them. I wanted to make you see through another perspective for once, but I guess it was my fault trying to force that, but not doing the same. I wanted you to learn facts, that not everything is perfect and cheerful and upbeat, that there are hardships and horrors and despair." He paused, then snickered. "You know, such as us. So it is in my hope that you understand what I've been trying to do, and that it's not just as simple as trying to make you depressed. You expected to live long, so I just wanted you to learn."

D-boy exhaled deeply, talking was harder now that he had to deal with these obnoxious lungs, beforehand he could go mantra upon mantra on anything he pleased, but now he had to learn about 'breaks'. How annoying.

Either way, he was almost eager to hear what Mr. Eff thought of it. He really hoped that he'd understand for once, that he'd manage to get what D-boy was trying to inform him about.

For once Eff actually listened to D-Boy's words. And for once, D-Boy's words weren't the usual depressing shit he was used to hearing him spit out. It actually made sense. D-Boy was making more sense now that they weren't trying to kill each other with words. It was weird. Different. Again, this was a good kind of different, and it made Eff smile even more.

"Oh, so _that's_ what you were trying to do? Well, that makes a lot more sense now! Just that, the way you were trying to force an emotion on me before, I kept blocking it out! There was no way I was going to let you bring me down!"

D-Boy could literally have the perfect desperation speech and cause everyone in the world to cause suicide, and Eff would still be around cheerful as ever.

"Sure, I won't be happy **all** the time. Eventually I will be sad, but until then I'm capturing the moment and enjoying the ride." Eff grinned as he spoke.

"You know, by the way you just explained that to me, it sounds like you care about me, D-Boy." He pointed out. Was that true? Did D-Boy care about him or just care about making him experience depression? Eff couldn't help but to be a little curious and waited for D-Boy to respond to confirm or deny the statement.

D-boy's face flushed at that little statement. Now that he thought about it, it _did_ sound like he cared about Mr. Eff, and way too much for his own liking. "No, that's not the case! I feel this way about everyone; you all need to learn it sometime! You're just the most... prominent one, because I know you best." He said, crossing his arms.

He couldn't believe he didn't notice that sooner. Mr. Eff really was the only one he ever felt that way about, but like Hell he could tell him that! Not now, at least. Definitely not now. Although he probably wouldn't even need to tell Mr. Eff, his feelings were probably clear as day. Curse this horrid human form and its need to project everything he felt! Everything was just so much easier as a styrofoam display stand, sure he hated it then, but this was just Hell.

Eff merely smirked at D-Boy's flushed face. It didn't matter what D-Boy said now; his face gave away the truth. Eff just couldn't believe it! Well, he could, but it was something he would never have expected from D-Boy. He actually cared for him! Eff was happy to make this discovery, and knowing this fact could prove to be useful later.

"Who is 'everyone'?" Eff asked. There was no one else but him around, and D-Boy was doing such an awful job hiding how he felt. Did he even know what a poker face was?

Eff decided not to wait for an answer though, and instead change the subject. "So, is there anything else we should... discuss?" Just talking was nicer than fighting. Eff couldn't help but to smile at this fact, and best of all he didn't have to get angry or yell. It was just a nice talk.

"If not, I'm going to make more toast. Maybe we could watch TV without you running out this time?" He suggested, lightly poking fun at D-Boy. Eff would normally go out and get more people to put in the basement after breakfast, but it was raining outside. It was a good excuse to just take the day off. Besides, maybe he could bond a little with D-Boy today. They were already getting along so well.

D-boy was stumped again. Couldn't Mr. Eff just give one simple option? "I guess whatever you want to do, it's not like I really have any ideas." He paused, and his expression lowered. "Mr. Eff... You are telling the truth, right? About your whole 'liking me' thing?" He asked. He truly wasn't sure what to think about it, it just puzzled him so much. How someone could ever possibly like him was just beyond him. How would it even work?

If Mr. Eff was lying, there was no fucking way he'd want to go along with it, he had enough problems with Mr. Eff as it is. But how could he ever tell? Mr. Eff was notorious for lying, what with the way he controlled Johnny.

Or... were D-boy and Johnny just really, really gullible? He wouldn't deny Johnny being gullible, but himself? That was garbage, he couldn't be that easily persuaded! But how could he know, at all, especially with Mr. Eff? All he could do was wait it out, asking questions and expect truthful answers.

Eff was about to go back to the kitchen and make toast when D-Boy asked if he was telling the truth again. He paused. Didn't he already answer this?

"Yes, of course I'm telling the truth." He said, his smile fading again. Eff put on a hurt expression again, to look as if he was disappointed that D-Boy still doubted him.

Was his word not good enough? Well, D-Boy wasn't stupid... he probably knew he lied a lot, especially with how he got Nny on his side. "Do you want me to prove it? I thought I made it pretty clear how I felt about you earlier, D-Boy..." As if wanting to make toast and watch TV with D-Boy wasn't good enough. What else could he do? What else did D-Boy want from him?

"What about me do you like? There is, after all, a reason why we never got along. If you really do feel this way there has to be _something_!" D-boy interrogated, he wasn't going to let Mr. Eff off the hook yet. If he truly felt this way, there had to be reason of some kind, no way it would just poof out of nowhere!

Unless Mr. Eff turned out to be a verbal masochist. D-boy would be honest, he would've never saw that coming, but he was sure that wasn't the case.

"There's not much in my personality to like at all, it's rather hard to imagine. I'm still in disbelief about this whole thing, honestly... And, uh- I'm awake, right?" He was pretty sure he was, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

He waited patiently for Mr. Eff's reply, but he was really expecting him to just blurt out 'oh I was just joking I really hate you and your miserable self ha ha' at any given moment.

This is where Eff's ability to lie was about to be really tested. D-Boy certainly put up quite a challenge for him. But of course, Eff had expected that. "Well..." He took a moment to gather his thoughts.

Think, Eff think! There had to be some admirable about D-Boy, even though he was just the most depressing thing ever. "...You're putting yourself down too much. There are plenty of things to like about you!" Actually, Eff hated a lot of things about D-Boy, but he decided to turn the things he hated about him into things he 'liked'.

"For example... Even though you're loyal to our master behind the wall, you're still loyal! That's something to like. And you're also very determined and hardworking! I know that because you kept trying to make me see what it was like to be depressed..." He paused. Hm... He needed more reasons to sound genuine. Maybe there were some things he actually liked about D-Boy?

"I like the way you always call me 'Mr. Eff' instead of just calling me 'Eff'." Of course, the 'Mr.' wasn't always necessary, but it was still nice. It was like D-Boy really respected him.

"And..." Eff took a moment, to look for something physical about D-Boy he could compliment. "Your hair. I think it looks nice! And it looks very soft! I'm a little jealous." He said with a smile. His own hair just wasn't as pettable looking as D-Boy's. It almost wasn't fair!

After that last compliment he couldn't really think of anything else. He looked away from D-Boy, feeling his face grow a little warm. Was he... embarrassed? Maybe a little. Would D-Boy criticize him for trying to compliment him like that?

D-boy almost _expected_ himself to blush at this point, hearing all that Mr. Eff had said. "You... Wait, you really think all that? About me? You like those things?!" His own voice surprised him, it wasn't angry or stern like always, he actually sounded... thrilled, really.

And he was. He was proud of some of his traits here and there, but he never thought anyone else enjoyed them. Yet, Mr. Eff did. He had to take a moment to let the words sink in. He was just complimented, this was a really, really weird experience. It was... a nice experience. It was pleasant, he really didn't mind it.

In fact, he kind of liked it.

"... Thank you, Mr. Eff."

Eff looked back at D-Boy and gave him another smile. It seemed like his counterpart liked his compliments. D-Boy sounded almost happier, even. If Eff kept this up, he could have D-Boy helping him with the wall in no time! But... let's not get too carried away now. He didn't want to force anything and ruining his progress. D-Boy was going to be a project that was for sure.

"You're welcome, D-Boy. Now if you're convinced that I like you, I'm going to make us toast!" He finally left for the kitchen like he meant to do before D- Boy doubted him. The loaf he had used for breakfast was still out. Eff figured he would make what was left of it into toast and share that with D-Boy. It was more than enough!

As Eff put bread into the toaster he sort of wished he had something other than butter to use as a topping. Sure, butter was great, but a little variety wouldn't hurt. Maybe the next time he went out to grab some people to use for paint he could get some jelly or peanut butter.

It didn't take too long for the toast to be ready and buttered, but it did take a little longer than usual, with how much bread he used. He carried the plate of toast into the living room and gestured D-Boy to come over and sit with him on the couch. Eff would have to find another happy movie to watch, or maybe even a romance. He bet such a movie would get D-Boy so flustered. It was amusing to see D-Boy blush, since he usually was so depressed or serious. It was a nice change of expression to see on D-Boy's face.

D-boy was hesitant about it as usual, but he decided to join Mr. Eff on the couch. He was doing anything other than bad, anyways, so it wasn't too suspicious. He shifted around on the rather uncomfortable sofa, trying to find a spot to sit where there wasn't a broken spring trying to poke his ass. It was surprisingly difficult.

He looked over at Mr. Eff who was enjoying one of his many toasts, and flicking through the channels in attempt to find something to watch, in which D-boy would probably continue to ignore. He was trying to adjust to this whole ordeal, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for any it. But, he agreed to it out of pity, and if any consequences happened he would have to deal with it. For now, at least according to Mr. Eff, they could relax.

Or try to, what with D-boy's thoughts racing around his mind every moment. Would he really be capable of returning those feelings? Where would he even start? Perhaps he could start with the traits of Mr. Eff that he liked? He did after all admit he liked a few things about his pesky ex-now-possible-partner...

As soon as Eff found something suitable to watch, he moved closer to D-Boy on the couch. Mostly it was so D-Boy could reach the toast, but it would be hilarious of his counterpart got nervous because he was sitting so close. Eff chewed and swallowed whatever toast he had in his mouth, before speaking up again. Sure he could concentrate on the movie, but talking to D-Boy some more wouldn't hurt.

"So, is there anything you like about me?" Eff suddenly asked. He figured he had the right to ask, since D-Boy pulled all those compliments out of him earlier. It would be interesting to find out what D-Boy thought of him too. It was hard to imagine D-Boy liking anything about him, but if Eff could find something he like about D-Boy, or at least lie about it, then surely D-boy could find something he liked about Eff.

D-boy jittered, he wasn't expecting them to have to talk for a while. He looked Mr. Eff over, as if he'd suddenly get the information he needed from that. Oh well, it at least brought Mr. Eff to mind, not that he at all needed help with that right now...

"Well... Let's see." He began, tapping his finger against his lips. "You're not as pitiful as Johnny, I'll give you that." He joked, not really wanting to list the things about Mr. Eff he was okay with out in the open. He didn't feel calm about it at all. But Mr. Eff did it, so it couldn't be that hard...

"Your will. I like your will. You're headstrong, and I... I admire it. It's like you don't let anything in your way, nothing to damage your own plan. And your fervency, too. It's like you can turn anything you enjoy into something you find amazing. I almost wish I was like that. And your humor! I know I really come off as solemn and grim- which I _am_, but I still enjoy some of the witty things you say, even to me. And..."

He stopped. He felt really, really perturbed at how easily this was all flowing out of him. Like it was natural, or he liked Mr. Eff, or something idiotic like that! Yet, caught in the moment, he felt the need to continue.

"And... I know this is ridiculous, but back when we were doughboys... You know, eerie styrofoam dolls and all that? I really... I don't know, I liked how your eyes looked. How you looked in general. I mean, you look nice now too, but, uh..." Where was he even going with this? He had to shut the fuck up; all he was doing was embarrassing himself more. His fingers dug into the couch, nearly tearing into the material as his face burned red. He wondered how upset Mr. Eff would be if he knocked him out right now, just so he wouldn't reply.

Before D-Boy started speaking Eff started eating another piece of toast. He munched on it while listening to D-Boy say what he liked about him, but near the end he stopped mid-bite.

D-Boy wasn't just complimenting him just a little; he was practically gushing. Eff closed his mouth and put the half-eaten toast down, taking a moment to let what D-Boy said sink in. It was... so... flattering what he said, and D-Boy's words even managed to put some red on Eff's face.

Eff was a horrible person and he had fucked up morals, and yet D-Boy went as far to saying he liked the way he looked. Judging from the how red D-Boy was, it looked like he really meant those things he said and liked Eff. In fact, it almost sounded like D-Boy liked him before they were human! If they weren't in a constant war between manic and suicidal tendencies would they have gotten along sooner?

Eff finally smiled. He liked D-Boy's little compliment speech. It was such a shame that most of his own compliments for D-Boy had been made up on the spot. It was a shame that Eff didn't really like D-Boy. But it was so very nice to have D-Boy act not so depressed, and not see him trying to make Eff depressed as well.

"Wow... I didn't know you liked so much about me, D-Boy. I was certain you hated every single bit of my existence almost as much as your own!" He chuckled lightly. Eff picked up the piece of toast he had put down. "Thanks!" He thanked D-Boy before he continued to enjoy his toast. D-Boy may not have been able to make Eff depressed before, but he managed to somehow give him a happier feeling with those compliments.

D-boy sighed in relief that Mr. Eff didn't laugh at him about it, or mock him. He probably was in his mind though, how dreadful...

"Uh... You're welcome." He replied, he hoped Mr. Eff just ignored everything he said, although at the same time, it felt rather nice letting all of that out. It was probably the first time he ever said something that Mr. Eff didn't consider annoying or depressive, and this was rather interesting, whether he was listening or not.

They weren't arguing, that was the important part.

Eff didn't talk much after that. His attention went to the TV, but really wasn't paying too much attention to it. He was actually thinking and planning. Eff already got so much out of D-Boy already. He now knew that D-Boy liked him, but he needed to figure how he was going to get his counterpart to actually help him keep their master trapped. D-Boy was rather loyal to the stupid thing behind the wall. Eff couldn't ask for him to help too soon or else D-Boy might suspect something was up or get offended.

For now all he could do is try to be nice and get D-Boy to stop being so damn depressing. And maybe after a while, D-Boy will like him enough to help. It was going to take time, which annoyed Eff a little, since he felt a bit impatient about this. And worse of all, he might have to take more time out of the day to pay attention to D-Boy. He wasn't sure how he was going to balance his time with D-Boy with his time in the basement, but surely if he tried it will all work out. It just had to.

His thoughts were broken when he saw the two people in the movie kissing. He had no idea if D-Boy was even paying attention to it, but he decided to take advantage of this moment just to see how D-Boy would react. Hopefully it wouldn't scare D-Boy too much. It was just going to be something rather simple and coy after all. Eff put down any toast he had in his hand for a moment and suddenly lifted his arms to stretch with a yawn. When his arms went back down, the one closest to D-Boy was placed behind him, resting on the back of the couch.

D-boy flinched from the feeling of Mr. Eff's arm inches behind him, and he closed his eyes instantly. He waited... waited... waited...

There was no punch. No slap. No sudden pain or anything. He opened his eyes to find Mr. Eff just... sitting there calmly? He stared for a moment before slowly lowering his shoulders back down, feeling embarrassed for reacting like that. He shouldn't feel that way, though! Knowing how Mr. Eff was, he could've slit D-boy's throat when he was least expecting it!

He could've...

Oh God. What if he really was lying? What if he was just waiting for D-boy to be in his most vulnerable state?! But how could he be sure? Unlike himself, Mr. Eff was a perfect con-man, it was like he knew his way around everyone, and D-boy actually had the nerve let his guard down around him. How foolish could he be?!

D-boy huffed and scooted away from Mr. Eff slightly, hoping his attention was still on the television, whatever was on. He wanted to leave again, he needed some time to think- to clear his mind and sort this all out, but he couldn't just burst out the door like a maniac again...

Eff watched D-Boy out of the corner of his eye, waiting for a reaction. When he finally got one, it wasn't the kind of reaction he would have liked, but... it was sort of expected for someone like D-Boy. It looked like he might have to be more bold than planned. Eff used the hand he had behind D-Boy to lightly grab his shoulder to pull him back to his original spot. Of course, this action might be considered strange, so he covered the awkwardness by saying something.

"Aren't you going to eat any toast?" Eff suddenly asked, moving the plate of toast on his lap a little closer to D-Boy. He had eaten several pieces already, and D-Boy hadn't had any aside from the one from earlier. "I made them for the both of us, you know." He added. Really it was the only reason he made so much. While he didn't mind eating so much toast, he didn't intend on eating it all. He made this amount of toast so he could share with D-Boy.

"But I'm not really..." D-boy looked over the toast, it wasn't something he was particularly fond of, but it was pretty rare that Mr. Eff would actually make toast intending to share, so he might as well indulge in the situation. He attempted to ignore Mr. Eff's hand that was right on his back, which was making it even harder to resist bolting out the fucking door again.

"Oh, fine." He rolled his eyes before grabbing a piece and shoving it into his mouth, munching it impatiently. He could kind of see why Mr. Eff liked this stuff so much. "It's... okay, I guess. Thanks." He said rather irritably.

He sat there silently for a while, occasionally looking at Mr. Eff. He still had yet to take his arm off of D-boy's back, and it was beginning to annoy him. He wasn't used to it, and he was constantly expecting something bad to happen, as he always did. Maybe Mr. Eff would let off if he had an arm leeching to his back, too.

Yes. Exactly. D-boy quickly lifted his own arm up and placed it behind Mr. Eff, tugging him closer to himself.

Eff frowned, noticing the irritable tone D-Boy had, but what really bothered him was what he said. The toast was... 'okay'? Just okay? Toast was amazing! Maybe D-Boy's taste buds were broken. Or maybe the toast had gotten too cold before D-Boy finally ate one. Yes, those were perfectly reasonable reasons for calling toast just... 'okay'.

He was going to insist that D-Boy should eat another. Maybe that would make him realize that toast was more than okay. But D-Boy did something Eff completely didn't expect. He felt D-Boy's arm wrap around him and tug him closer. Eff had no idea why D-Boy did that, but it wasn't going to stop him from making a teasing remark.

"Well, D-boy, if you wanted me closer you could have just said something." He said with a smirk. Eff then scooted himself as close to D-Boy as possible, closing off any space that they had in-between them. He made D-Boy lean in towards him a little and leaned in himself, making the side of their heads touch lightly. He even tightened the grip he had on D-Boy's shoulder a little, as if to keep him in place. This was almost fun enough to make him forget that D-Boy had ever called toast just 'okay', as he was sure D-Boy hadn't intended to be this affectionate.

D-boy squirmed in discomfort at both Mr. Eff's comment, and his actions. Great, he got himself into another 'wonderful' situation. He tried to remove his arm from Mr. Eff's shoulder, but it was all for naught, as he was being held much too tightly to do anything about it.

"I didn't do it to get closer to you, you were bothering me so I- erm..." Wow, that really was a laughable decision he made. He was getting sick and tired of how much Mr. Eff was making him speechless lately, he never had these kinds of troubles before! What was wrong with him, or Mr. Eff, or both of them? Whatever it was, it was bringing back his familiar feelings of anger. He wasn't sure if he should be thankful or not.

Eff lifted a brow in confusion. He knew D-Boy wasn't _that_ stupid, and yet he completely made a wrong move. You don't put your arm around someone like that if you were being bothered by them! Well... maybe if he was intending to choke him or something, but he didn't even do that.

Eff sighed. "Again, D-Boy, you could have said something." Eff decided to remove his arm from D-Boy and move over to give his counterpart his space back. As much fun it was to make D-Boy uncomfortable, he didn't want to bother him too much. Eff was trying to get D-Boy to like him after all.

D-boy couldn't even retort to that, Mr. Eff was right. He was getting way too flustered and uptight, but could he really be to blame? "I don't know what to do. All of this is really a lot to take in, you know?" And it was!

He knew he must've looked exceptionally slow to his counterpart, but any sane person would know that hate turned to love in a second would be a fucking big deal, it was just a little hard to calculate everything at once. He would not be held responsible for something that was so clearly not his fault; this was an odd, _odd_ day, and it wasn't exactly easy for him.

"I guess, it is." Eff replied, picking up a piece of toast. He took a bite and chewed it while he thought. Maybe trying to spend a whole day with D-Boy was a bad idea. D-Boy probably needed time to take in what happened already. And with how they usually didn't get along... spending too much time together might end up in a fight.

"Let's just... spend the rest of the day away from each other." Eff finally suggested after he finished the piece of toast. "We've gotten this far without fighting, so let's not push it." It was the best option for now.

Although Eff might get bored out of his hat since he couldn't go out due to the rain. Well, he could go out, but he really didn't want to. Besides, less people go outside when it was raining, and that meant fewer victims to grab and drag to the basement. And he had just finished with the wall a couple hours ago, so he wouldn't need to go down there and paint again for at least a day.

D-boy slid down the couch slightly from relief. Some alone time, good, this was just what he needed. Maybe Mr. Eff was beginning to listen? But D-boy never really said anything about it, that was rather unnerving, but whatever. He could calm down and sort out his thoughts, now.

"I'm taking the bedroom for now, okay?" He stated more so than asked, but not really caring for Mr. Eff's answer, he stood up and began to make his way to the bedroom.

Though before entirely leaving the living room, he stopped. "Hey, about this whole feeling-y, getting along endeavor." D-boy turned to Mr. Eff. "It's..." It was wonderful and terrible. It was comforting and unsettling. It was different in both good and bad ways.

"It's less stressful than fighting, so I hope it works out."

Well, good enough.

And with that, he walked right on to the bedroom and closed the door before jumping onto the bed and stuffing his face into the pillow. It was less stressful than fighting, but it was way more baffling.

Eff smiled. D-Boy actually hoped that this 'feeling-y getting along endeavor' worked out? Well, at least that was something they could agree on, even if it was for different reasons. "I hope it works out, too." He simply replied.

After D-Boy left, Eff decided to take up the entire couch and lay down. He wasn't really planning to move from this spot. He didn't have work to do. He had TV. He had toast. And unlike D- Boy, he didn't really have a lot of thoughts to sort out, since he pretty much knew what he was doing. Nothing much to complain about here. At least, maybe, he could get more ideas from watching TV. Maybe he could find more ways to get D-Boy to like him more. So maybe watching TV was both work and a break? Considering the situation... but... it was still rather boring compared to slaughtering things though. So boring in fact, Eff was considering falling asleep just to make the day move along faster.


	3. Date With Death

D-boy woke up groggily again, once more having barely any sleep. No dreams either, as usual. Not that he ever wanted them. A deep sleep was what he wanted, what he needed, what he got. It was his only escape from this disgusting plain of existence.

He steadily got up, adjusting his clothes here and there. When he finally 'awoke', he was rather saddened he didn't manage to asphyxiate himself with his ascot while he was asleep. What a shame, he would have to try and tie it tighter next time.

But he was awake now, and he did his attempt at gathering his thoughts the night before. It didn't do much good, but oh well, it was the only thing he had.

Mr. Eff had feelings for him. Not feelings of hatred, not feelings of anger, not even feelings of disappointment. These were feelings of affection. Mr. Eff liked him, and according to Mr. Eff he was trying to execute these feelings for quite awhile. What great timing D-boy had to actually think of listening to him properly for once.

He left the room and walked through the halls, wondering what to really do about this situation. It really was awkward, he still _hated_ Mr. Eff, but he didn't really have any reason to now. Well, aside from him painting the w-

That's it. That was perfect!

If Mr. Eff liked him so much, maybe if D-boy tried to return the feelings, he could get Mr. Eff to stop painting the wall! He could show him the beauty that would be their endings! It would be great; they'd both get what they wanted. D-boy would die, Mr. Eff would be completely free, he'd get to be with D-boy, D-boy could be with...

Oh, right. That one tiny little detail. How could he return Mr. Eff's affections if he didn't feel the same way at all? At least, he didn't _think_ he felt the same way... His face turned bright red yet again. Wonderful, just as he walked into the living room where Mr. Eff was. Well, they had to speak at some point, didn't they?

The rain didn't let up at all yesterday. It made everything so damn depressing and dark. Eff was tempted to go out, even with the rain, but he settled for watching violent shows and a couple romance type movies. He did finally get an idea of how he could show D-Boy more 'affection'. In the movies, the humans would often go on 'dates'.

Eff wondered if D-Boy would even want to go out with him. Eff knew he had to go out today for more 'paint' for the wall today, so the date idea would probably have to wait. Unless... they had some kind of 'date' at home. But that wasn't as exciting. It would be really nice if D-Boy actually went out with him to get people for slaughter. That could be a 'date'. But Eff knew very well that D-Boy wouldn't do such a thing.

There were other things he could do, too. Humans often did things like hold hands and hug to show affection. Even with how D-Boy reacted to him merely wrapping an arm around him yesterday, Eff was going to try these things when the time was right.

Eff was currently watching some news while eating some toast he made for breakfast. While the news wasn't always interesting, it did have good information. Like events where he could find a lot of victims. Eff enjoyed ruining those, and thanks to some immunity that the wall gave, he never got caught. Nny never used that immunity to its full potential, but Eff enjoyed abusing it so much.

He then heard footsteps nearby. D-Boy was awake. He turned to greet his counterpart with a smile. "Good morning, D-Boy!" Eff glanced down at his plate. Somehow he managed to still have a piece of toast on there. While he didn't originally plan to share it, Eff wanted to keep his kind, affection-y act up. "Would you like the last piece of toast?" He offered. "Or, I can make you some fresh toast."

Another thing Eff would enjoy is if D-Boy started liking toast as much as he did. Then they would have something they could enjoy together! And it was unacceptable that D-Boy only found toast 'okay' yesterday. He needed to have one of those 'epiphany' things again, and realize how amazing toast is.

D-boy rolled his eyes the moment Mr. Eff spoke. He was already beginning to miss when he never shared his toast, but D-boy supposed he would have to eat something to get through the day without fainting like he unfortunately did a couple times before.

"If you're okay with giving your precious toast up, sure." He replied. Now that he thought about it, toast wasn't that bad. Without anything on it, it was just bland and rather tasteless. Maybe Mr. Eff was right about it and D-boy was just blind. Or, _maybe_, D-boy was still not fully awake yet.

Eff turned the TV off before getting off the couch to give D-Boy the piece of toast. Yes, it was precious to him, but if Eff really wanted more toast, he could just make more. That's another wonderful thing about toast, if you wanted more it can be easily made and it didn't even take that long to make!

He walked over to D-Boy and handed him the plate that had the piece of toast on it. "Well, you have to eat something for breakfast, D-Boy. I can't hog all the toast!" Actually, he'd love the hog all the toast. But Eff had to be nice to D-Boy if he ever wanted him on his side.

"So... how are you feeling?" He decided to ask. If they were still fighting each with each other, Eff probably would have tried to start arguing why D-Boy should smile this morning, but since they were trying to not fight and listen to each other, he thought he would ask how D-Boy was feeling instead. The answer was probably going to be obvious. 'Depressed. Sad. Uninteresting. Wanting to die.' or something among those lines.

D-boy gnawed at the toast, feeling a bit ill from the sogginess. Mr. Eff must've let a heap of butter absorb into the damn thing, but it was at least something. He stopped half-way through when Mr. Eff spoke again and lifted his head up, a slightly surprised expression upon his face.

"Well, fine... I guess. Just woke up and all." He pondered for a moment, taking another bite of his toast. "And you? How are you feeling?" The answer was rather evident on Mr. Eff's face. 'Cheerful. Happy. Wanting to kill.' something simple, one of those or a variant.

Fine? Eff was surprised to hear such a simple answer from D-Boy. He was expecting some sort of speech of how he felt his life was horrible and how much he wanted to end it from D-Boy, but no. Eff got the simple answer 'fine'. It was even more surprising to hear D-Boy return the question, but Eff didn't complain.

"Oh, well, I feel just great!" He grinned. "I'm going to go out today, but I wanted to make sure you were okay before I left." After all, Eff didn't want D-Boy to kill himself while he was out. He always worried about that in the back of his mind, and always expected to see D-Boy hanging from a noose or something when he got back from his outings. Eff didn't even know what D-Boy did while he was gone. Maybe sit around and cry? Think of more depressing speeches? Who knows.

"How's the toast?" He suddenly changed the subject, wondering if D-Boy's opinion on toast had changed at all from yesterday.

D-boy was rather puzzled. Mr. Eff wanted to know if he was okay? Well then again, if he did like him; D-boy supposed it would make sense. He looked at the toast as if inspecting it and it's 'flavor'. "It's better than yesterday, I suppose. It's... toast." He said before popping the rest in his mouth and swallowing. He wondered if he should try making his own food while Mr. Eff was gone?

Where was Mr. Eff going, anyways? The answer was obvious, probably to go killing, bring some blood back to continue enclosing their Master. "You painted the wall yesterday, didn't you? Why do you need more blood?" He thought aloud.

He was right, though. It wasn't necessary painting it every single day. The wall was weak against his Master- being, well, a _wall_- but it could stay sturdy for a couple of days without blood. If not, Mr. Eff not painting it for awhile would indeed be wonderful.

D-Boy's opinion on toast hadn't improved that much, and Eff wasn't to accept that. That's it. While he's out today he's going to get more things to put on toast, and lots more bread too... if he remembered. Usually the excitement from killing made him forget a lot.

"Yes, I did paint the wall yesterday." Eff confirmed. "But I still need to get more!" He'll always need to get more. "It's better to get more blood now anyways! I have to keep killing, collecting, and painting if I want protect our existence together!" Eff knew D-Boy didn't like him painting the wall, but it was something that had to be done, and something that Eff wanted to do often. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to relax.

The wall was another constant worry in the back of his mind, because if their Master ever broke free POOF there went his freedom, his life, his fun, and Eff was NOT going to let that happen ever. No! He was enjoying being human, and he wanted to stay like this.

"But, of course, you know this D-Boy." Why did D-Boy ask such obvious questions? Either he wanted to talk or... he was just wasting Eff's time. Eff wasn't going to let D-Boy keep him from doing his job, even if he was supposed to pretend to like him. If their master escaped then all the pretend affection would be for nothing! He talked to D-Boy enough this morning anyways. D-Boy was fine. He probably was still going to be fine whenever he got back from killing.

"Try not to be too sad while I'm gone!" Eff turned and started for the front door, picking up a bat that was laying nearby on the way. The bat was covered in blood; evidence that is was obviously used a lot. Eff liked using it since it was fantastic for knocking people out, and it less 'accidents' happened. With knives, though they were great for killing, it was very easy to cut the wrong spot and lose all that potential paint.

D-boy didn't try to stop Mr. Eff as he left, he tried before, and it never worked out. Once Mr. Eff had his mind set on doing something, _especially_ killing, he was nearly impossible to stop. He sighed, wondering what he could do now. He could go back and try suffocating himself in his sleep again, maybe.

Nah, the method was too lazy; it felt like he was trying to ridicule suicide. Someone such as him dying in his sleep was too pathetic, but it was often the only option seeing as how Mr. Eff had hidden most of the weapons around the house in the most bizarre and difficult places.

Even then, that wasn't the only thing stopping D-boy.

D-boy wanted to see how this relationship thing with Mr. Eff would go. He was bothered how his curiosity of this was getting the better of him rather than killing himself, but he was sure that time wouldn't be that bad on Master. Besides, he need to keep an eye on Mr. Eff, he needed to try to keep him from painting that goddamn wall.

Eff didn't kill or catch victims near the neighborhood. He often went out to the main part of the city to do that. Mostly because there were more people there and their neighbors were being saved for a 'last resort' in case for some reason Eff couldn't go out and take the time to get people elsewhere.

Nny took the car when he left, so at first it made going out and gather people a complete pain. But Eff fixed this problem by stealing a van. It was great for keeping multiple unconscious victims in the back. Eff sure was happy Nny had let him drive a few times as a doughboy; otherwise it would have been hard to learn how to drive too. And even though Eff knew how to drive, that didn't stop him from swerving on purpose and 'accidentally' running over a few animals and things.

It was nearly sundown when Eff returned to the house, and even then his work wasn't done. He parked in the backyard, close to the back entrance to the house. Mostly because going through the back usually meant less interaction with D-Boy, and it was closer to the basement.

Eff dragged several victims down the basement one at time. And once they were down there he put them in their master's room and other rooms nearby, replacing the corpses he had created the other night.

As for the corpses? Eff was a little lazy in getting rid of those. He just stuffed them somewhere deeper in the parts of the basement he didn't use. No need to waste time to bury the stupid things.

The whole ordeal of gathering victims for the wall was difficult, but it never stopped Eff. He was determined and his want to continue existing was stronger than any laziness or need to procrastinate. But... sometimes he did wish he had help. It will be awhile before he could get D-Boy to help him, so he wasn't wishing for help too badly, but it still would be nice.

It was about time for a toast break. Most days had a similar 'schedule' to this one: eat toast for breakfast, make sure D-Boy doesn't kill himself and argue with him how great life is (although today it was more like ask how D-Boy was doing), go out and kill and gather victims, avoid D-Boy because he's depressing and counter-productive, throw victims in the basement, eat more toast, and finally during the night he would kill victims, drain their blood and paint if he felt the need.

Eff still had a few more things to bring into the house; although they weren't victims. Quickly walking up and out of the basement he went back outside to his van, getting a few bags that were on the passenger seat. He went back inside, going into the kitchen to take the stuff out of the bags. It was mostly loafs of bread, but this time Eff had gotten other things to put on the toast. Jelly, honey, peanut butter, hazelnut spread... he grabbed whatever he thought looked good.

He was glad that he remembered these things today, since he usually forgot. Eff didn't buy them, though. He stole whatever he got. Again, abusing his immunity, he just killed the store clerk and took whatever he wanted. He saw no point in using money when he can easily just take everything for free.

D-boy was lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. That was pretty much what he did all day, save for a couple of things. Today with Mr. Eff out and the kitchen available to him, he made some toast. Not with anything on it, just toast. It was surprisingly delicious without some kind of weird topping genetically mutated into it. It was plain, but that was its charm. In fact, D-boy didn't think he'd ever seen Mr. Eff just eat toast, yet he ranted about how amazing it was? How could he understand if he'd never tried the toast's true form?

Before he could continue on his internal rant on the toasted snack, it finally occurred to him that Mr. Eff was home, as he was clanking around in the kitchen. D-boy stood up and walked over to him, looking at the few things he was shoving into the fridge. "Welcome back, Mr. Eff." He said nonchalantly, noticing the few droplets of blood here and there on him.

He wanted to tell Mr. Eff just how horrific it was for him to just go out and kill every single day, but he kept it to himself this time, not in the mood for one of his peppy retorts.

Eff was lost in his thoughts about making toast, before D-Boy's voice broke them. "Hello, D-Boy." Eff gave him a smile. He was glad to see that D-Boy had managed to not kill himself today.

After the things were put away, he went ahead and started his toast making ritual. Getting out bread, and something to put on top of it. Today he had found something called 'honey butter', so he thought he would give that a try. If butter tasted so great on toast, he could only imagine how great this would taste!

"How was your day?" Eff spoke up again, as he put bread into the toaster. Again, he wondered what D-Boy did all day while he was here. Staying home all day is so boring, after all. He didn't understand why D-Boy stayed in all the time. Even if he wasn't going to go out and kill people, it would be more fun to go just go outside and enjoy- oh... right. D-Boy didn't enjoy life.

"It was a day, I guess. Just walked around a bit, sat on the couch... Oh, I did eat some toast without your authority; I do hope you don't mind." D-boy's voice had a hint of sarcasm, but nothing intended to jab Mr. Eff.

"So... How was your day?" He asked, not actually interested, but he figured it was a good idea to continue along with not arguing. It was going well so far. Besides Mr. Eff's little touch escapade, he hadn't really been too angry for the whole day.

He didn't want to really take advantage of Mr. Eff's feelings, but the knowledge that he could use this to finally free his Master once again was more than enough drive for him to try. It would take a lot of time, but goodness gracious would it pay off! It would be so useful! To do so, though, he knew what he'd have to do. He'd have to like Mr. Eff just as much, and throughout the day as he thought about it, it didn't sound _too_ bad of a deal...

Eff was surprised to hear that D-Boy made toast. He wasn't offended at all by it, even with the sarcasm. He was just happy that D-Boy made toast by himself.

"You made toast? Did you enjoy it? What kind was it?" He couldn't help but dump some toast-related questions onto D-Boy. It was just so exciting! D-Boy made toast!

He then replied to the question D-Boy returned. "My day was wonderful! I wanted to get more things to make toast with, so I just went to the store and caught a bunch of victims there and killed the store clerks! It was fun!" He grinned at the recent memory, as he took the fresh toast out from the toaster and put it on a plate. Eff began to put the new butter on top of the toast, putting a more than generous amount on them.

"After I'm done with the toast, I think I'll paint the wall a little..." He thought out-loud. The wall probably didn't need a ton of blood like it did the other night, but Eff liked to be sure that the wall was always well-covered and that there was no chance for their master for escaping.

"But after that, if you want, we can watch some TV!" He suggested. Eff had to spend SOME time with D-Boy if he was ever going to get him to like him. Sadly he didn't have a lot of ideas of how to spend time with him, but watching TV sounded good enough.

D-boy didn't want to watch television, but what else was there to do? Mr. Eff got bored of them simply talking quickly, and there was no way in Hell he would join in locking his Master up even more. How could he stop Mr. Eff from doing that, anyways? The only other thing they could do was go outdoors.

... Unless, they did that, of course.

D-boy wondered what there was to do outside; he could only remember so much from what Johnny said he went off to do. There were stores, but Mr. Eff already went shopping. There were clubs, but D-boy would never, ever want to even go near one. There were cafes, but really what was the point of going there? There had to be somewhere that both of them could go to without Mr. Eff getting bored or D-boy getting angered, but what? Think, D-boy, think!

"Hey! Mr. Eff, if you want to watch something inane on a screen, why don't we just go to the movies?" He couldn't help but feel pride in himself for remembering that one time Johnny mentioned slaughtering a bunch of people in a movie theater easily, because all of the lights were off. That seemed like a great place to be, aside from the 'tons of people' part.

Eff hadn't expected D-Boy to suggest such a thing. He took a moment to respond, only sort of shocked that D-Boy basically asked him out on a date. Really, Eff thought he would have to be the one to ask D-Boy to go out. And here D-Boy was asking him to go to the movies. What a surprise!

"Really, D-Boy? You want to go out with me to the movies?" He asked with a smile. He was still wondering if he had heard wrong. "I would love to go to the movies, but I don't know if I'll be done painting in time for us to go to one." Eff said.

Usually painting took up a lot of time. Even if it was a little painting, Eff was down there at least an hour pass midnight. The movies didn't stay open that late did they? Normal humans sleep, and therefore their stores, and establishments and things close at normal hours. It was almost tempting to skip painting the wall so he could go to the movies with D-Boy.

Finally finished buttering his toast, Eff took the first piece and bit out of it. He paused to let himself experience the new taste. It was just about the most amazing thing ever! It had a similar taste to butter, but it was so sweet and melty and AMAZING!

"D-Boy!" He didn't even finish chewing. Eff spoke with a mouth half full of toast. "Come here and try this!" He gestured D-Boy to come into the kitchen and then pointed at the toast he had on the plate. For the moment he had forgotten all about D-Boy's suggestion to go to the movies, because of the new discovery of this great tasting honey butter toast.

D-boy sighed; this wasn't going to be easy. "No, Mr. Eff it's fine, it's your toast. Indulge." He replied, wavering his hands. He had to steer Mr. Eff away from feeding the wall somehow, to persuade him more. "The movie theater probably closes in a few hours, so we'd have to hurry!" He stated. No, no, that wasn't motivational enough. He needed something more... tempting.

He glanced over at the toast.

"You know, Mr. Eff, I bet they have a lot of nifty candies at the movies. Probably some you haven't even tried yet!" Knowing Mr. Eff, this had to work. The only way to that boy was through his stomach, it seemed.

D-Boy didn't want any toast? Well, that was just too bad! Eff was too happy about not sharing his wonderful toast to care. He continued to happily eat it, but tried not to eat too fast to make it last longer.

D-Boy then brought up the theater again. Eff wasn't really interested in what D-Boy was saying until he mentioned something about candy. While Eff hadn't actually tasted much candy as a doughboy, certainly the experience as a human eating candy would be great! How could he resist that kind of temptation? To try something different, even though it wasn't toast, would still be a nice _human_ experience!

And what if it tasted as good as the toast he just tried? Well, nothing could be as good as toast, but maybe candy would be a close second. And the movie theater would have popcorn too! And popcorn had butter on it! Butter was used on toast! Yes! Candy and popcorn at the movies sounded lovely!

...But there was still the wall to paint. Maybe he could just paint it after the movies; after this wonderful experience.

Eff swallowed the toast he had in his mouth currently before answering. "Oh, you're right, D-Boy!" He grinned. This experience would benefit D-Boy as well. Eff bet D-Boy never experienced one fun thing in his entire life! Maybe tonight will change that! This also brought up an opportunity to get D-Boy to like him more. "I guess if you _really_ want to go out to the movies with me, we could go! It will be fun!"

D-boy felt ashamed that he screamed a small 'YES!' inside of his mind when he finally won Mr. Eff over, even if it was about pointless sugary objects. It was still a step in his mind, and that was good enough for now.

"Then let's get going, shall we?" He said in the happiest voice he could muster, which, honestly, didn't sound happy at all. He waltzed over to the door and opened it, awaiting Mr. Eff to follow along.

Eff wasn't finished with this toast yet, but D-Boy seemed excited... well... as excited as D-Boy could get, to go. The toast would still be there when they got back, and he could make more when they returned too.

Eff followed D-Boy out, and since the theater was in the city and would take a couple hours to get to on foot; Eff insisted that they drove in the van. Which probably would be too bad, if Eff didn't drive like a complete maniac. But despite the almost constant swerving, and the running over of a few small animals and possibly a child, they made it to the movie theater's parking lot in one piece. Eff did a wonderful job of parking the van in the parking spaces horizontally, taking up two potential parking spots.

Before getting out of the van he wondered if he should bring a weapon with him. Eff knew they were here to see a movie, but killing was just too damn fun. Unable to resist the possible temptation, Eff grabbed a small knife off the dashboard and slipped it in his pocket.

"What kind of movie do you want to watch, D-Boy?" He asked as he got out of the van. D-Boy probably didn't want to watch any kind of movie, but Eff figured he would start up a conversation so they had something to talk about while walking to the theater's entrance.

D-boy slowly slipped himself out of the van, shaken from the drive. "A blind child with no limbs on **crack** could drive calmer and more-on-the-fucking-road than you, Mr. Eff!" He screeched immediately as he touched the ground.

He took a breath and huffed before composing himself and following Mr. Eff along, joining him in the line. He was thankful movie theater lines appeared to be smaller during the night. He looked at the movie posters, all of them appearing rather tasteless and boring, or just outright ridiculous. "Well... It was my idea to come out here, so you can pick one."

It seemed like D-Boy didn't appreciate his driving, but Eff didn't let it get to him that much. D-Boy didn't like a lot of things Eff did, and Eff was used to that. Besides, driving crazy was what made driving fun! It was too boring to follow any 'rules' driving had.

"Alright then, let's see..." Eff looked over the movie posters. What kind of movie should they watch? Well, nothing depressing! Or boring! Something exciting! Maybe... something romantic? No, something violent!

Eff tried watching something romantic with D-Boy yesterday, and it didn't work out, so maybe an action movie would be best. That way Eff wouldn't get bored and start killing everyone for entertainment. Maybe D-Boy would find it interesting too, but Eff doubted D-Boy found anything not relating to suicide interesting.

Even though the line wasn't long, Eff quickly grew impatient. He stared at the people in front of them, wondering why they were taking so god damn long to get their tickets. Really, Eff could just... kill them and get to the front of the line that way. Eff tried to resist though, if he even wanted this 'date' to be the slightest bit 'romantic' or... perhaps just merely enjoyable for D-Boy. But Eff's resistance grew dangerously thin when it was finally their turn to get their tickets.

"That one! Two tickets for that movie!" Eff pointed at the title. And immediately the possibly soon-to-be-dead woman announced a price, which was much too high. At that moment Eff realized that humans usually paid for these things. And he didn't have any money. Because... well, he didn't really need money when he could just kill and take whatever he wanted like at the store.

"Can't you just give us the tickets?! Why do we need to pay?" Eff asked. His hand was already going for the knife in his pocket. It was so stupid that they had to pay for a movie when they could easily watch it at home on their TV for free!

Oh dear, D-boy could see where this was going. He shoved his hand into his pocket and stomped in front of Mr. Eff, pulling out the money needed before sliding it to the ticket lady. "Two for whatever movie hot-head over here asked for." He said, gesturing to Mr. Eff. He was determined to have his counterpart be kill-free around him, but he doubted it was going to stay that way for any more than one minute. He didn't even need to murder anyone to cause trouble, people were already giving him fearful glances from his… particularly _drenched_ attire.

But finally the lady gave them the tickets, and D-boy dragged Mr. Eff inside by his arm, not allowing him vision of anymore victims, or them of his concerning other.

Eff paused when D-Boy suddenly stepped in front of him. Damn, D-Boy should be more careful! If he had stepped in front of Eff any later there could have been an accident...

Eff left the knife in his pocket for now. D-Boy apparently had money. Eff wondered where he got it from, and why D-Boy would even bother using it. Maybe it was just for the sake of keeping Eff from killing. Which was fine, for now. Eff wasn't sure how long he could actually not kill anything though.

Once they were inside the theater, Eff pulled his arm away from D-Boy. He didn't really appreciate being pulled around by his counterpart that much. Maybe if they were holding hands, but...

"You didn't have to use money you know." He told D-Boy, still smirking regardless of the fact he didn't get to slaughter that woman. "I could have just killed her and- oh my god look at all that candy!" Eff's attention went to the food stand in the theater mid-sentence; immediately when he caught sight of it. He quickly went in line, not even bothering to see if D-Boy was going to follow him or not. Unfortunately this line was a little longer than the ticket one and the people took longer getting their food and snacks too.

Again Eff grew impatient. What was the point of lines anyways?! He didn't care about the people in front of him; he just wanted to get his candy right now! The temptation to kill rose once again.

As he waited in line he stared at other people in front of him with a smile that could make anyone uncomfortable. Of course he was thinking of how he'd kill them as he stared. Imagining their deaths was almost as good as actually killing them, but it only made the urge to actually do so stronger.

Eff could barely hold still in line. Just... He could kill all these people! Right now! Every single one! And then he could have the theater to himself! And D-Boy. And all the candy and the movies will be for free! In some sort of sick way, that almost sounded romantic.

D-boy would've lost Mr. Eff with how fast he left, if it wasn't so obvious where he went. He followed behind and shuffled himself beside him, not actually wanting any of that sugar-drowned junk, but someone had to keep an eye on him.

Just like he appeared to be 'keeping any eye' on everyone else. What the fuck was with him? Did he always just… _stare_ at people when he was out? He knew that as pastry display stands there wasn't much of an option, but in this form they could do things at their own accord unfortunately. It was a little uncomfortable, for both the humans, and oddly enough… himself?

D-boy didn't understand why he felt bitterly about this; Mr. Eff was just... looking, right? But looking at what, other people? Why? He crossed his arms, a look of impatience appearing on his face. He simply didn't get why looking at all these people was so important to Mr. Eff, what was so special about them?

Maybe the line should hurry along; he didn't want these people around th- wait, was he... was he getting jealous? How juvenile of him, why would he be jealous of these stupid, good-for-nothing humans? It's not like he wanted Mr. Eff's attention.

Then again, why was he so interested in them, when he wanted to kill one seconds ago? D-boy assured himself he was just blowing such a small detail out of proportion.

Still, he shifted his eyes to the other, and looked down at his 'target'.

Casually, he slipped his hand into Mr. Eff's hand, holding it as lightly as he could. Just in case, of course. Keeping an eye on him. Or a hand. Whichever worked.

Eff was lost in his homicidal thoughts when he felt something touch the hand what was dangerously close to the pocket that had his knife. It took him a moment to break his thoughts and register what was holding his hand.

He glanced down at his hand, and then looked at D-Boy. Eff couldn't help but to smile. D-Boy was holding hands with him! That was some sort of affection thing humans did! Some progress with D-Boy was just so exciting! Eff happily gripped D-Boy's hand, but not too tightly. He was going to make a remark on how sudden D-Boy decided to hold his hand, but just then it was their turn to order the food.

"I want at least one of each of these!" Eff pointed at the candy with his free hand. "And a large bucket of popcorn and a large soda and... are those nachos?" He never tried nachos before. He seen Nny eat them a few times though. Hell, Eff was ordering practically everything else so why not? "I want extra cheese on mine and..." He paused. Was there anything else he wanted? He felt like he was forgetting something. ... Oh, right! Eff looked over to D-Boy once again.

"Do you want anything?" He wondered if D-Boy was going to pay for this stuff too, but if he wasn't Eff already had a solution.

D-boy twitched slightly as he felt Mr. Eff tighten their grip, and suddenly, somehow, he felt calm again. But his little 'trance' was then broken when he realized how much food Mr. Eff was ordering. Did he really need all that shit? He'd have a heart attack by the time he was done! Then again, the junk food is what managed to stop him from painting the wall for the night, so D-boy supposed he couldn't really complain about the ordeal. Besides, him having a heart attack might be an even better excuse not to paint that wall...

He then noticed Mr. Eff asked if he wanted anything, and looked at the assorted array of treats. He felt sickened by each one he saw, how could anyone put that poison inside of them?! Well… aside from himself of course, but that was a different kind of poison. A good poison. "No, I'm fine. Let's just get your food already, okay?" He said, still leering at the edible items. He tugged at Mr. Eff lightly, and blushed when he remembered they were still holding each other's hands. He probably should've let go, there wasn't too much of a reason to cling to Mr. Eff now as he had his turn, but he didn't really want to.

D-Boy was just no fun. He didn't even want any of the interesting snacks the theater offered! Oh well. Eff turned his attention back to the clerk behind the counter. "I guess that's it then, and put lots of butter on the popcorn!" He grinned with excitement.

Eff couldn't wait to eat all this new food! When the food was prepared and on the counter for him to pick up, Eff tugged on his hand a little. Oh... he would need both hands to carry all of this stuff. That was kind of a shame. Eff liked holding D-Boy's hand. He liked that D-Boy was showing some sort of affection towards him. This hand holding didn't last long enough. Maybe they could do it again later, but for a longer amount of time.

Disappointed, Eff's grin was reduced to a smile. He finally pulled his hand away from D-Boy's and stepped aside so D-Boy could pay for the food while he gathered all the food and candy in his arms. "Hurry up and pay, so we can go get good seats!" He urged D-Boy, eager to go sit down and start stuffing his face.

D-boy mentally slumped when he felt Mr. Eff's touch leave his hand, but felt a slight jolt of panic when he remembered he had to pay for all of that edible garbage. He fidgeted with his pockets desperately and let out a sigh of relief when he managed to find some money.

Thank Master. He slammed the money down onto the counter and began pushing Mr. Eff towards the theater. "Go, go now, before he realizes it's not enough!" He hissed quietly.

Eff was surprised, but grinned. D-Boy apparently didn't have enough of that worthless money, and he was conning the clerk behind the counter! How devious! Honestly, Eff would help D-Boy out and just kill the guy so they could have the food for free, but his hands were full and this seemed like so much fun!

He giggled and hurried off into the theater. Eff was almost too excited to find the right part of the theater that was playing the movie he had picked, but somehow he managed to find the right room.

He went inside and picked a seat close to the screen and near the middle. There were lots of empty spaces since it was so late at night, and thank god there was, otherwise Eff would have personally made seats available with his knife if there wasn't a good pair of seats for him and D-Boy. The screen was still playing previews, which was alright for now. At least Eff knew that the movie hadn't started yet and he didn't miss anything.

D-boy was unsure which seats to take, but he tried to guide Mr. Eff (who seemed to be blinded by his large amount of food) to the farther back ones, as they appeared to have more view of the screen. Finally they sat themselves down, and D-boy tried his best to find the most comfortable position in this chair, which unfortunately was to no avail. He attempted to lay back and, of course, ignore whatever was on screen. Anything he ever saw on screens upset him immensely, the only times he ever felt television was of any kind was worthwhile was when the news filmed people about to fling themselves off of buildings. Well, except when they drag the person away. What blind, useless creatures those humans were…

Either way, he waited for Mr. Eff to get seated properly, and he wondered how that would even be possible with his food everywhere.

Eff would have really liked to have a seat near the front, but D-Boy lead them to a further back one. He decided not to complain though, since D-Boy did just do the most amazing thing ever and let him steal all this food like that.

Eff sat down next to D-Boy and started to arrange the food so he could have it all around to the point where he was comfortable. The boxes of candy were stuffed on the sides of his seat, between his thighs and the arm rests, the soda was obvious put in the cup holder, the popcorn was placed on the ground in-between his feet for later and the nachos were on his lap.

Eff thought it would be best to eat the nachos first, while they were hot, then maybe alternate between candy, popcorn and soda. Even if the movie was terrible, Eff had enough food to not care. He couldn't even wait for the previews to be over to start eating. Eff happily crunched on some nachos that were graciously covered in melty cheese. It didn't taste as good as toast, but god was it an interesting taste! Maybe he should try putting cheese on toast sometime.

After he consumed about a third of the nachos, he paused to glance at D-Boy. He felt like he was forgetting something again. "Thanks, D-Boy." He decided to thank his counterpart, attempting to start some kind of conversation between them again. The food was nice, but waiting to get through the previews was so boring! "For, you know, buying the tickets and the food." Eff smiled. Honestly he has felt happiness and cheerfulness before, but this positive feeling felt a little different, but Eff couldn't quite explain it. He was just really glad about how tonight was going so far. Going to the movies, having all of this food, the ... hand holding moment... everything was just so perfect!

D-boy chuckled quietly, he was wondering when Mr. Eff would speak up on that, not that he could take the credit. "Please spare me of that, if you should thank anyone, thank Johnny. He was the one who left his money in the drawer, I merely came across it." He said, wavering it off. He still felt rather... not-upset about the thank you, though.

"... There's not much to do without you around, Mr. Eff." He added, whether he was aware he said it or not remained to be seen. He looked over at his younger associate, and he almost smiled from how ridiculous he looked, what with how well he organized all that food around himself. It was like he was precisely trying to decorate himself with treats or something, it was just plain silly. "I'll take it you're enjoying all that?" He asked, more rhetorically than anything.

Thank Nny? He wasn't even here! D-Boy was the one who bought everything, not that stupid boy. Why couldn't D-Boy just accept the thanks? Eff was going to tell D-Boy to just take the credit, but then he heard D-Boy say something else.

Wait... what was that? The statement sounded like... like D-Boy liked Eff being around. Like life was boring for D-Boy when Eff wasn't there. Well, of course it was! All D-Boy did was sit around and be depressed. Eff thought that was utterly boring, but he never knew that D-Boy was bored with being depressed and doing nothing too. Then it seemed like D-Boy tried to change the subject.

"Of course I am!" Eff gave an obvious answer. But he wasn't going to let that last statement unnoticed. "So... Do you want me to stay home more?" He suddenly asked. "Would you like it if I tried to spend more time with you?" Eff was so curious about D-Boy's answer that he even stopped eating for a moment so he could hear him properly.

D-boy's face immediately flushed at these questions. Of course he didn't want Mr. Eff around anymore! Did he? Why did Mr. Eff have to make everything so confusing?! He had to find something to distract him from D-boy's answer; he just didn't know what to say to that. "Look! The movie is starting!" He announced and pointed to the screen.

Oh, hey. The movie _was_ starting. What timing, he had never been so thankful for a film in his entire life. He just hoped Mr. Eff's short attention span would take the bait, as he looked quite determined for an answer.

Eff saw D-Boy's face grow red and smirked. Even with the dimmed lights, he was still able to see a bit of blush. Was it because of his questions? Well, if it was, that was more than enough to let Eff know that D-Boy indeed wanted him to stay at home more. It was too bad he didn't get to hear this answer voiced out to him, rather than expressed by a flustered face.

Eff continued to wait, but then D-Boy pointed at the screen. Oh boy the movie! He had almost forgotten about that. "It is?!" His attention was then focused on the screen, forgetting about D-Boy and the unanswered questions for the time being. Eff grinned, rather excited that the movie was starting. He began to eat his nachos again as he watched the introduction of the movie start.

D-boy was expecting to just ignore the movie, but seeing as there was nothing else to look at other than Mr. Eff stuff his face, he decided to just give the screen his attention.

So far there wasn't one thing that didn't bore or puzzle him, and eventually he just began to drift off. His eyes fluttered occasionally, and his head rested firmly in his palm as he leaned against the side of the chair. Well, at least Mr. Eff seemed occupied. Though D-boy's vision got hazier as the movie went on and he began to fall to the side. Eventually as his eyes closed, his head slumped onto Mr. Eff's shoulder. Unconsciously, he nestled against it, being the only warm thing close to him bringing out his human body's instincts.

On the other hand, Eff was enjoying the movie. After the nachos were eaten he brought the popcorn up onto this lap to start eating that as well. He also ripped open some candy boxes to eat those. Somehow he managed to get most of the food into his mouth without looking away from the screen.

Eff was so focused and interested in the movie, he didn't notice that D-Boy was falling asleep next to him. At least, he didn't notice until he felt some pressure on his shoulder. His attention broke away from the movie, and he looked away from the screen to look at D-Boy. He would have been bothered that D-Boy could fall asleep during such a great movie, but then Eff felt his face heat up a little, seeing D-Boy snuggle into his shoulder.

This was another affection-y thing humans did. He was aware that D-Boy liked him... somewhat... but he hadn't expected for D-Boy to show so much affection during their first night out. It was a pleasant surprise. Carefully, Eff moved his arm around D-Boy, allowing him to lean onto him closer. Sure, he basically lost one arm he could be using for eating, but when else would he be able to return such affection? Eff wanted to take advantage of the moment now. He tried to eat quieter during the movie now, since D-Boy was asleep.

For the rest of the movie, Eff was only paying half attention. Part of him was distracted by the fact D-Boy was asleep against him, and another part of him was trying to stuff all this delicious snack foods into his mouth. When the movie was over, Eff almost didn't want to wake up D-Boy. He looked so... peaceful. Of course, peace was boring but... there was just something about this moment that Eff didn't want to give up.

But it had to end right now. They couldn't spend the night here. They had to go home. Eff shook D-Boy gently to try and wake him up. "The movie's over D-Boy! You slept through the whole thing!" Although, he wasn't particularly irritated by this fact. He was just pointing out the obvious.

D-boy yawned and stretched, being awoken by a voice very close to him.

... A voice _too_ close to him.

He fully opened his eyes as he felt the unfamiliar feeling of cloth against his face, and looked up to find that he was leaning upon Mr. Eff's shoulder. Without delay, he jerked his head back and waved his hands in front of him. "I- I didn't mean to- um- I- !" He halted when it finally occurred to him that Mr. Eff's arm was wrapped around his own shoulder. Rather snug at that, too.

"What the fuck happened...?" D-boy asked, giving Mr. Eff an utmost pitiful expression. He was so befuddled with their current situation, and he barely woke up a second ago.

Eff blinked, not expecting D-Boy to act so frantic when he was woken up. It wasn't like he was on fire or anything, which would be funny, but D-Boy had just been asleep on Eff's shoulder. Eff wasn't sure if D-Boy would appreciate his arm around him while he was awake, so he removed it.

"You fell asleep during the movie, D-Boy! I can't believe you could fall asleep during something so exciting! And there were explosions too! How could you sleep through those?" Eff asked, not understanding how D-Boy could just fall asleep during a super exciting movie like that.

"Well, if you're awake now, I guess we should go home." Eff said, standing up out of his seat to stretch. He let the empty candy boxes fall to the ground as he stood up. He didn't even bother to pick them up either. Some other human would do that, right? Eff didn't have to worry about his trash, so he didn't.

He had managed to somehow fit all that junk-food in his stomach, and that made him feel a little full, but it was worth it. The candy tasted fantastic. The movie was great. He enjoyed having D-Boy sleep on his shoulder. It probably meant that D-Boy already liked him more and that meant he was getting closer to having D-Boy on his side.

D-boy wanted to say something, but he was still too drowsy to really do so. He felt a bit bad for falling asleep so quickly into the movie, and he hoped Mr. Eff didn't resent him for doing so on their first time out. At the same time, though, he couldn't give less of a fuck. He steadily got up and brushed himself off, looking around to find that they were the last to leave the theater. Wow, he really did sleep for a while, why didn't Mr. Eff wake him up sooner?

Hey, that was a good question. Why _didn't_ Mr. Eff wake him up sooner? D-boy was now even more concerned with what went on during his abrupt nap, and he eyed Mr. Eff suspiciously the entire time as they left.

Eff would have noticed D-Boy eyeing him but his stomach started to feel a little weird. It was distracting, but Eff didn't really want to pay much attention to it. Maybe it was just a feeling he was supposed to get when he ate so much? Eff had never stuffed himself with a bunch of food before after all. At least not as much as he did tonight. Besides, he wasn't going to let weird stomach feeling ruin tonight! It had been so great so far.

Eff and D-Boy returned to the van and Eff drove them both home. Of course Eff still drove like a damn maniac. He hit a few mailboxes on the way home this time, since there wasn't really anything else to hit at this time of night.

Usually such a joy ride would have left Eff giggling but his stomach bothered him even more afterwards. It bothered him to the point where he couldn't even hold a smile. Eff just had a disapproving frown on his face. God, what was this feeling anyways?! It was annoying and unpleasant!

Eff held his stomach a little as he got out of the van. His face looked pale. He looked rather ill, and no matter how much Eff wanted to deny and reject the horrible feeling growing in his stomach, it was still there. This wasn't like one of those faint sad feelings he could ignore after one of D-Boy speeches, this feeling was more physical than emotional, which was why Eff couldn't ignore it until it went away.

D-boy didn't pay any mind to Mr. Eff during the car ride, considering that, like the first ride, he was busy clutching onto his seat and letting out shrill squeals of horror each time Mr. Eff hit something, or tried to. Now that they were going into the house though, D-boy was rather astonished at how badly Mr. Eff appeared to be doing.

He was moving sluggishly, pale in the face, and for Christ's sake- he was frowning. _Frowning_! D-boy wasn't sure if he should be overjoyed or concerned, but his delight in the misery of others got the best of him.

"My my, Mr. Eff. You wouldn't happen to be having any regrets right now, would you?" He was clearly being cocky, but a similar frown stayed plastered right on his face. He took pleasure in others' guilt; it was always rather amusing, as well as somewhat reassuring when people realized their mistakes. That way, they could either learn a Goddamn lesson, or kill themselves from the realization. With Mr. Eff, D-boy would be pleased about either.

D-Boy's cocky question didn't help at all. "O-of course not!" Eff growled, not wanting to admit any regrets to his counterpart, knowing that would only give D-Boy satisfaction.

The feeling in his stomach was making him feel weak in the legs, but he forced himself to walk, still clutching his stomach. Maybe he will feel better inside the house? Strange gurgling noises rose from his stomach. Something was clearly wrong with him, and Eff realized that. He also realized that he wasn't able to push away the feeling. It was a little frightening. Eff never felt like this before. It was horrible!

Eff then felt something trying to push its way out of him, causing him to heave a little. He covered his mouth for a moment. Thankfully, nothing came out, but it did let him know what was going to happen. Eff was going to throw up. Despite the weakness in his legs Eff bursted into a run, running straight to the bathroom.

He was glad that he did because as soon as he fell onto his knees in front of the toilet his body was successful at pushing out the unhealthy snacks he had ingested during the movie. He vomited violently into the toilet, tasting everything he had eaten once again. It was the vilest thing he had ever tasted, and throwing up such things was such a terrible experience.

The first few upheaval of stomach contents were the worse, but as it continued it seemed to calm down only slightly. After a while it finally seemed like he threw up everything in his stomach, and Eff was left panting, miserable, and in tears, pathetically collapsed over the toilet, praying that his stomach wasn't going to push anything else out.

As Mr. Eff bolted past D-boy into the house, he shuffled in after him, just in case he would be needed for any cleaning. Messes like that weren't exactly D-boy's fancy. At the sounds coming from the bathroom, though, D-boy's enjoyment of misery almost instantaneously turned to feelings of worry.

He peered into the bathroom to find Mr. Eff doubled-over in pain, and actually crying about it. He could've laughed at Mr. Eff about this, taunted him about crying, and he could've mocked him with his own revolting, ignorant words. He could do so, so many things in this situation, things to get back at Mr. Eff with, yet he did none.

In fact, without delay, D-boy made his way to Mr. Eff's side and bent down. He helped the sickened boy up and gently propping him on top of D-boy's lap. He held the younger one closely and took his hat off, tossing it away and brushing his hair aside to ease any fever he might have.

D-boy never liked television, there was rarely one thing on there he could tolerate, but goddamn did those occasional medical shows he stuck around to observe pay off. Honestly, he gave his attention towards them for the opposite of their intentions. He watched them for knowledge of pain-induced reactions. Hopefully their information was correct, and if so, he knew exactly what to do.

"Mr. Eff, I know it hurts, but you're going to have to get up and rinse your mouth out. I then want you to go lay in the bedroom, and I'll come by soon after cleaning up, okay?" He asked, attempting to help Mr. Eff stand up.

If Mr. Eff ever thanked him for anything ever again, it better fucking be this.

Eff expected for D-Boy to make fun of him when he found him. After all, his counterpart did enjoy other's misery, and Eff was quite miserable right now. He tried to ignore D-Boy when he walked into the room and came near him. Why couldn't he just leave him to vomit? This experience was terrible enough without childish taunting from D-Boy.

But to Eff's surprise, D-Boy peeled him off of the toilet and onto his lap. He didn't have the strength to struggle or push D-Boy away at the moment, but it didn't seem like he was doing anything to make matters worse. What was D-Boy doing? Was he... helping him?

"I don't want to move..." He whined, his voice hoarse from throwing up so much. Eff slumped in D-Boy's grip, refusing to stand because moving disturbed his stomach. He was afraid if he moved too much he would throw up again. Eff was also being a little stubborn, like he usually was, even though he was sick. Although, in this case being stubborn with D-Boy was a bad thing, but Eff had failed to realize that for now.

D-boy rolled his eyes, he expected that from Mr. Eff. He tried to push him up again, but he kept slumping down back into D-boy's arms. He was really tempted to just leave him there, but he figured if he was this far along with helping him, he might as well finish what he started.

Carefully, D-boy slipped his hands underneath Mr. Eff and hoisted him up, his arms and torso over D-boy's shoulder and the rest of him being cradled in his arms. Fucking Hell, he knew from Mr. Eff's appearance he wasn't exactly 'fit', but he weighed a ton! Well... that or D-boy was incredibly unhealthy and weak from never eating, moving or leaving the house, but this wasn't the time for bickering to himself about that.

He shakily carried Mr. Eff to the bedroom and laid him on the bed, heaving a bit himself from carrying the other all the way there. He then did as he said, and went to go clean the bathroom. Thankfully Johnny always left some kind of cleaner in there, just for the occasion, although the 'liquid' usually wasn't puke.

Eff was surprised that D-Boy just didn't leave him there. He was even more surprised when D-Boy picked him up like that, but this was a bad kind of surprise, since the movement gave him the sudden urge to vomit. He groaned as he tried not to puke once again.

Thankfully Eff was able to keep this urge down for now. He closed his eyes and weakly clung to D-Boy's shirt as he was carried. God, the movement was making him feel even sicker, but luckily it wasn't a long trip to the bedroom. Eff felt a little better when he was in the bed, where he could be still.

After D-Boy left to go clean, he curled up in pain, clutched his stomach, and continued his suffering in silence. He hoped he wouldn't throw up again. There was nothing nearby to vomit into, so if he did throw up again it would create a terrible mess.

After cleaning the bathroom, D-boy went to the kitchen to fix Mr. Eff a glass of water, to 'rinse thoroughly' or something. Whatever it was, it apparently worked, so he was going to try. He brought the glass to Mr. Eff and tapped him lightly, trying to get his attention away from his currently oh-so-busy hobby of rolling around and whining.

"Drink it." He said, holding the glass in front of Mr. Eff. "I know you probably feel like you're going to throw up any moment, but you have to drink water. It is an order." And well, hey, if there was one thing D-boy was good at; it was taking and giving orders.

Eff glanced at the glass of water he was ordered to drink. Why would D-Boy want him to drink water so badly? Did he poison it? Oh, god! He probably did poison it and was going to kill him to free his master or something! Is that why D-Boy was being so nice? That had to be it!

But... something didn't quite add up. D-Boy still hadn't made fun of him or taunted him. Unless that was part of the trick. Eff was confused and sick and... damnit, he wanted to get this god awful taste in his mouth! He hoped that his suspicions were wrong, and the water was just water.

Eff carefully sat up and took the glass. He tried not to drink it too quickly, not wanting to upset his stomach even more. It helped get that vomit taste out of his mouth at least, and soothed his insides a little. The urge to vomit again seemed to go away too.

Afterwards he didn't die or feel worse, so the water must have not of been poisoned like he thought it might've been. "Thanks, D-Boy..." He thanked D-Boy and handed him the empty glass and laid down again. The water had made him feel somewhat better, but he still felt horrible.

D-boy took note that Mr. Eff appeared to be at least slightly better, and the thank you was an accomplishment enough. "You're quite welcome." He replied before carrying the glass back to the kitchen, and leaving it beside the sink in case it would be needed again. It was always good to be prepared for the worst, which D-boy was the best at.

His 'job' was basically complete, but he still felt he needed to do something. Maybe he thought of something and forgot on the way to the kitchen? Perhaps. He decided to go back to the bedroom to see if his idea was correct, but alas, it was not. He was still feeling the need to do something else, but no clue on what it could be.

His gaze fell upon Mr. Eff, and the feeling of concern returned. Why did he want to attend to Mr. Eff? He was only a couple of years younger; it wasn't like he was incapable of taking care of himself.

But... in this state, D-boy began to doubt that. Mr. Eff couldn't even smile; he never let anything get to him that badly. It was an incredibly unusual sight, seeing Mr. Eff in such a wretched and cheerless condition. It was enough that...

... that D-boy actually _wanted_ to comfort him.

The idea seemed senseless at first, but the more he thought about it, it could be beneficial for both of them. Mr. Eff would feel better, and D-boy could get him lean to his side more. He wasn't sure why it was Mr. Eff's benefit that motivated him on it the most. He went to the opposite side of the bed his counterpart was on, and crept onto it, slanting towards him slightly.

Eff tried to pay no mind to D-Boy at first, since it he still thought that D-Boy would taunt him about his current condition any minute now. But then he felt D-Boy get into the bed. He even felt him move close and... what was this? Was D-Boy trying to comfort him? It had to be some trick, right? Well... no! If D-Boy was going to do something bad or kill him, he would have done so already. D-Boy had plenty of opportunities to take advantage of this situation and he took none of them!

Well, if D-Boy wasn't going to take advantage of this situation, then Eff was, but not in a bad way. Rather, he decided he was going to accept D-Boy's attempt to comfort him. Eff turned to face D-Boy, and moved close. He wrapped an arm around him to cling to him for comfort, and buried his face into his shirt. Eff hid his face mostly because he just knew he looked awful. He wasn't even smiling, and he couldn't muster up the urge to do so. "I feel terrible..." A muffled whine came from Eff.

He tried not to cry again, not wanting to give D-Boy another reason to make fun of him later. Eff didn't know how long he was going to feel this way, and he had no idea of how to make himself feel better. He had never been ill before, after all. He just wanted to feel better now.

Even sick, in the back of his mind he still was aware he hadn't painted the wall yet, which worried him more. Eff couldn't paint the wall in this condition! He could barely get up to move! The horrible thought of the wall being unattended for too long because of his sickness made him cling to D-Boy even tighter. If he had more energy right now, surely Eff would be panicking more physically, rather than mentally.

D-boy was thankful that Mr. Eff took the initiative to be comforted, rather than him having to place himself in doing so. He couldn't deny that Mr. Eff holding onto him and burying his face into his chest felt surprisingly... okay. He'd almost say it was pleasant, and for Mr. Eff's stomach's sake, he hoped it was the same for him, too.

At the moment of realization of their current situation, though, his heart felt like it was going to thump right out of his chest. Mr. Eff and D-boy were _cuddling_. In merely a day or two, just by listening for once, they were holding each other close, as if anything they'd ever said to each other, anything they'd ever done, all the lies they told and the fights they had... didn't even exist.

And honestly, D-boy liked that. Despite his unusually fast breathing from his spastic heartbeats, he had never felt more relaxed in his entire, obnoxious life. He begged that this moment wouldn't end soon like the others, he wanted it to last.

Eff was silent for a few moments. His thoughts of the wall continued to worry him until he heard a particular sound. He stopped his thoughts to listen. It was a very familiar sound. Eff moved his head a little, so his ear was against D-Boy's chest. Ah, yes. It was a heartbeat! Eff was rather fond of this sound. Discovering it put a small smile on his face.

The heartbeat was a little fast though. Was D-Boy nervous? Well, he would have to say something if he wanted Eff to move, because Eff didn't really feel like moving from this spot. The rhythm of D-Boy's heart was calming and it was also reassuring. It was a sign that D-Boy was alive, and Eff was glad that he still was. He knew that D-Boy didn't want to exist anymore, but without D-Boy... Eff would be alone.

Though his stomach pains still bothered him, this was actually a nice moment between him and his counterpart. It was affectionate, comforting, and best of all Eff got to hear one of his favorite sounds. All thoughts of painting the wall were tossed out of his mind for now, and were replaced by the sound of D-Boy's heart. It was almost as if nothing else mattered anymore; almost like nothing existed right now but D-Boy's heartbeat.

Eff closed his eyes so he could hear it better. Little did he know, Eff was actually falling asleep to this wonderful sound. Sleeping wasn't something he did very often, since he usually had all this energy and something to do. But right now he barely had any energy, and while he still had things to do, he was too sick to do anything. The only thing he could do is continue listening to the beat of D-Boy's heart and fall asleep. His grip on D-Boy loosened a little as he fell into unconsciousness.

D-boy's heartbeat began to simmer down as he felt Mr. Eff go limp in his arms, probably being the first time he'd slept in a while. He had no clue what core was inside of that boy to make him so energized and impervious to sleep so often, but now that he was finally unconscious, suddenly it felt a little odd not having him bounce around.

At the same time, though, he found it quite enjoyable. He'd never seen Mr. Eff calm enough that he'd actually slept, and D-boy felt his plan in comforting him must've been a success. He hated the sounds people made while they slept, he would never deny that, it was like a cheap fake-out death, without the dying part.

But now that he was human, and that was the closest option he had, it wasn't as bothersome now. At least, comparing to all the screams of torture or hollering from arguments. So now, the sound of Mr. Eff's breathing against his chest was satisfying enough. Other than that, everything was silent, and all the more soothing for D-boy.

He shifted down the bed slightly, so that him and Mr. Eff were face-to-face. D-boy gazed at Mr. Eff for quite some time, just admiring this... moment, of sorts.

He couldn't help but feel that such a calm expression didn't suit Mr. Eff, his bright, wide-open eyes and large, nerve-wracking smile was so much more fitting for him, it was basically the staple of his appearance. It was enough to make D-boy want Mr. Eff to feel better when he woke up, not even to just make him feel down again, he really did want him to get well!

The couple past days had certainly been intense. He wished all of their days were this noiseless and placid; it would make everything so much easier to deal with while he was still alive.

And this moment. This moment must've been like the kind Mr. Eff always took pleasure in, and got upset when ruined. This... this moment was honestly what D-boy could manage to make himself call beautiful. It truly was! He almost wanted to stay awake for the night, just enjoying this, but eventually his own tiredness caught up with him again.

Before he knocked out completely, he wrapped his own arms around Mr. Eff, and gently embraced him before drifting off into sleep.


	4. Stairs of Fire

Eff's dreams, whenever he actually slept and had them, were always very violent and red. Though, the moment Eff woke up he always had a hard time remembering them and what they were about.

It was actually past noon when Eff finally stirred from his slumber. Before opening his eyes he noticed how... warm and snug he felt. He was clearly near a source of heat and something was holding him, though not tightly, near it.

When he opened his eyes he came to realize that it was D-Boy. What... really...? D-Boy had him in a loose embrace. Eff never would have thought D-Boy would ever... want him so close. He didn't know he could get D-Boy to like him so fast. Eff was so surprised at the progress he had made with D-Boy already.

He remembered last night, and how D-Boy actually helped him and even tried to comfort him. It was amazing how far a little fake-affection could go and yet... though it was fake... a part of him almost wanted to believe his own lie. Would it really hurt his plans to get D-Boy on his side if he actually liked his counterpart? Well, no... but... He would have to think about this later.

Eff had to remember he was only doing this so he could have D-Boy on his side, and eventually help him keeping their horrible master behind that wall. Still though, being close to D-Boy, all snug like this, it was pleasant.

Eff smiled. He was feeling better today. His stomach had calmed down, and really the only thing he could complain about now is the bad aftertaste he had in his mouth. But that could be fixed with toast.

Speaking of toast, he should probably get up and go make some. But, not just yet. Eff would like to enjoy this rare moment with D-Boy just a little longer. He always had a hard time letting go of happy, pleasant moments. Eff wished these moments could last forever, but he would have to settle for just a few more minutes since it would have to end eventually.

D-boy awoke without noticing that he was curled around a certain someone's body, yet when he opened his eyes, he wasn't as shocked as he was at the movies. He was about to shoot out questions in confusion until all of last night came back to him, and he almost immediately calmed down, looking as if he experienced a panic attack without the actuality of having one.

He remembered it all vividly, Mr. Eff got sick, and he tried comforting him, ending in them... Oh. Right. His face was warm from the humidity, or at least that's he blamed it on. He shifted uncomfortably, still embracing Mr. Eff who was smiling right at him, and not even in a mocking way. Just... a smile.

"... Are you feeling any better?" That was all he could think of to say, not sure if he should let go of Mr. Eff or not, and equally as unsure if he wanted to.

Eff was a little disappointed that D-Boy woke up. That meant that they would have to get up soon and go about their day. Whether they would spend it together or separate was still up for debate though.

He grinned at D-Boy's blush. Boy, did D-Boy seem to blush a lot! It seemed rather easy to get D-Boy to blush, as if he didn't have any control over how he felt at all. This too was a good sign and clearly showed how much D-Boy liked Eff.

"Much better! Thanks for asking, D-Boy." He sounded like his cheery self again. Eff moved to sit up, but didn't really bother moving D-Boy's arm to do so. He stretched a bit, taking in a deep breath. God it felt great to be alive! It felt even better now that he wasn't sick anymore. Eff merely learned to appreciate life more from his experience last night.

"Would you like some toast?" Eff suddenly asked. He was hungry and eager to get that bad taste out of his mouth, but keeping up his affection and kind act, whether it really was an act or not now, was something Eff wanted to make sure he did.

"No, it's fine..." D-boy said, holding onto Mr. Eff's waist now as he sat up. "Are you really hungry?" He asked, although what he wanted to ask was 'do you have to get up and leave?', but like Hell he was going to spew that out. He couldn't deny he was cozying up to him faster than he wanted, but he was still too suspicious of him to really start opening up to him with things like that.

Then again, he got into bed and cuddled with Mr. Eff on their first fucking night together, could he even have the rights to say that he didn't want to disclose these kinds of thoughts?

Nevertheless, he remained with his arms around the other, hoping he wouldn't leave just yet. Even if the moment was gone quite some time ago, he still wanted Mr. Eff to stay. Just five more minutes. Or maybe ten. Or an hour.

Eff paused at D-Boy's question and stared. "Well... I guess I'm not starving, if that's what you're asking." He said; a little puzzled why D-Boy would even ask that. It was odd that D-Boy hadn't let go of him either. D-Boy's arm was still wrapped around his waist, though Eff didn't mind it at all. Eff would have figured D-Boy would have been more than happy to let him go but he didn't! Did that mean he wanted him to stay?

Eff actually wouldn't mind staying, but he wanted to know for sure if D-Boy wanted him to stay put or not. "Why do you ask, D-Boy?" He questioned, giving him a curious look.

D-boy really didn't want to answer, but when he stopped to think about it, maybe just outright saying it would make his counterpart stay, at least for a while. "I wanted you to stay." He replied, attempting to show no shame at all. He shouldn't, after all, Mr. Eff was the one who said that he liked D-boy, not the other way around.

But, that was also the shameful part. If Mr. Eff was the one who had feelings for D-boy in such an affectionate and caring way, why was D-boy the one asking Mr. Eff to stay? Either way, he decided he should stay confident about these types of things. Constantly blushing in front of Mr. Eff wasn't helpful at all, but as long as he didn't mindlessly stutter like a bumbling man with a knife to his throat, it truly shouldn't be a problem. He _was_ still adjusting to his human form and all, and it was more than complicated to control for him.

Hearing D-Boy say such a thing made Eff blush a little himself. "O-oh, of course." He stuttered. It really wasn't much of an act now. Eff actually felt flattered and a bit flustered that D-Boy wanted to hold him more.

He laid back down and moved back to his original position on the bed. Eff stayed close to D-Boy, facing him, but he was too embarrassed to look directly at him at the moment. Eff wasn't sure if he should say anything or not, so he stayed silent. It was a little awkward but cozy and peaceful. It was nice to just lay here and forget about whatever they had to do today.

Eff then remembered something he liked about last night. Yes, the cuddling was great, but what his favorite part was hearing D-Boy's heartbeat. While they were making this moment last, Eff might as well listen to something he was fond of. He moved down some, so he could move his head and press his ear against D-Boy's chest. Eff smiled contently hearing this wonderful rhythmic sound, and moved an arm around D-Boy as if to keep him in his place while he listened.

D-boy felt his heart race as Mr. Eff complied to his request, and even laid his head back down against his chest again. He was beginning to take delight in these physical moments, as petty as they seemed. He adjusted his arms around Mr. Eff properly again, and settled against him closely.

He didn't get it, what was so wonderful about this, just holding each other? Whatever it was, it was great _somehow_, and he appreciated Mr. Eff's participation in it. You know what, Mr. Eff was right, maybe a few impulsive actions here and there weren't so bad. If they brought on this moment, then Hell, maybe-

Wait, what the fuck was D-boy saying? Mr. Eff was _right_?

Two days. Two days and it was already taking a toll like this on him. Was this good? Bad? Procrastination? Progress? He was getting along with Mr. Eff, that had to be a good sign somehow, but...

Was Mr. Eff siding with him, or was he siding with Mr. Eff?

D-boy had apparently earned Mr. Eff's appreciation, but he hadn't really won Mr. Eff over or anything, probably far from it, he seemed as chipper as he usually was.

But his only method was depressing others, and Mr. Eff said so himself, it would be nearly impossible to bring him down. D-boy wasn't sure what to do. He clutched to the other, as if it would make his mind work better.

He really needed to calm down, he hadn't even been up for that long, and he could panic himself about decisions later, couldn't he? That he could. For now, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to soothe himself again as he reducing his vice-grip on Mr. Eff to a simple embrace, hoping he didn't frighten him from the spontaneous grasping.

As silent as it was, despite hearing the beating of D-Boy's lovely, alive heart, Eff's mind began to wander a little. His thoughts currently decided to pick D-Boy as the subject again, wanting to pick at it more since he was staying still for a while. Where did he leave off anyways?

Oh, right. Did liking D-Boy really put his current goal at risk? Even though it was originally planned to just merely trick D-Boy, to get him to look at life more positively and help take care of the wall, did actually having affectionate feelings for D-Boy really affect the situation? Well... perhaps not. Maybe it was okay... D-Boy hadn't tried to bring down his mood much either. It had only been a couple days, but to seemed like months since he heard anything remotely depressing come out of D-Boy's mouth. So, it was working, it would seem, his plan to get D-Boy on his side. D-Boy wasn't exactly cheerful, but... he seemed less depressed. That was progress. Maybe it actually was okay to—

Eff's thoughts stopped when he felt D-Boy's grasp tighten around him. He was so curious he actually removed his ear from D-Boy's chest to look up at him. "Is something wrong, D-Boy?" He broke the silence with a question.

D-boy barely realized Mr. Eff even spoke he was so caught up in his questions, until finally he noticed the question directed to him. "What? Oh, no. Just... waking up, is all." Wow, way to go on that 'speak with confidence' plan he was going for. He sounded as confident as that fucking neighbor kid.

"Mr. Eff, I'm well-aware that this must be getting awfully tedious, but if you could just confirm one more time... do you really like me?" He needed to ask again. His suspicion just couldn't be satiated, not with this. If it was true that Mr. Eff felt this way, maybe that was all they needed. D-boy could talk to him properly and they'd all be fine, they'd be out of this world in no time. Just a few more conversations or persuasions. But it did beg question… "If you really do like me, why did you never really mention it until now?"

Eff was surprised that D-Boy brought up this question again. Wasn't what he said before believable enough? Even though they were lies, Eff did his best to remember what he had said before so he could 'confirm' his feelings for D-Boy. "Well, as I said before you're loyal and hard-working! And I still like how you seem to treat me with some respect, despite how differently we think!"

Oh but... Eff felt like these reasons weren't really as true sounding as they should be anymore, even though he had confidence in his voice. Maybe he should add something else? There was something he really liked about D-Boy now, since they've gotten a little closer and learned new things about each other. "I enjoy how you can't seem to stop blushing." Eff then grinned at the thought. "And the sound of your heart! And how the beat seems to speed up when I'm listening to it!" He kept stating things he liked.

"I didn't really know of it until last night, but you're also kind!" It was true. D-Boy wasn't as cruel as Eff thought he was. After all, D-Boy helped him and even comforted him last night.

He stopped his compliments when he heard D-Boy's second question. Oh. How was he going to answer this? The fact was he didn't really like D-Boy! ...Or at least he thought he didn't. So, it made this question a little difficult. Eff thought for a moment.

"Honestly?" Yeah, like this answer was going to be honest. "I was... afraid. You see, we fought so much in the past, and we always seemed to be screaming at each other! I thought you hated me, and... it was hard to admit my feelings to you. I thought you would reject me immediately or tease me about it! I was merely trying to save myself from unnecessary embarrassment, but now I'm really glad I did admit my feelings! I mean, we wouldn't be..." Some blush appeared on Eff's face. "...cuddling right now, if I hadn't said anything... We would probably still be trying to stuff our own opinions down each other's throats!" He chuckled lightly, since that was clearly a fact.

D-boy still wasn't entirely convinced by this, in fact, Mr. Eff's answers made D-boy even more skeptical about it. Most of the things Mr. Eff complimented only became apparent to him last night, not last month or even last week. It was like he was making it up as he went along.

His usual frown intensified, and he pushed Mr. Eff away to sit himself up. "How could you like those things- how could like _me_, when you didn't even know most of these traits until last night?!" He hissed, his face twisting into a scowl. He felt his face heating up again, but unfortunately for Mr. Eff, it was most certainly not blush.

Eff had been confident, too confident, expecting D-Boy to accept his lies. It was what he wanted to hear, right? But D-Boy's frown wasn't reassuring at all. Whatever confidence Eff had immediately left him as soon as D-Boy pushed him off. His smile faded.

Eff also sat up, not liking D-Boy's intense frown at all. He knew that look all too well. He felt some panic after hearing D-Boy's question. Oh, god how was he supposed to answer to this? He could just stop the lies here and admit that he didn't like D-Boy that much before, but now he sort of liked him so it was okay now! But... no. No, that can't be the only option! It was so stupid!

"What else am I supposed to say, D-Boy?" He threw a question right back at his counterpart, having his own frustrated frown on his face. "You keep asking me why over and over! I didn't want to bore you with the same answers! I thought you would appreciate that I actually found more reasons to like you!" Eff sounded like he didn't fully understand why D-Boy reacted the way he did, because honestly he didn't!

"Why do I need to keep repeating myself anyways?! Why can't you just believe me for once?" At this point Eff was just as about as upset and worked up as D-Boy was. He was really bothered by D-Boy's doubt. Maybe it was a good thing that he didn't actually like him that much, or else his feelings would have gotten hurt just now.

Then Eff realized something. They were fighting. They were fighting like they've always fought. It was a different subject, but yes, they were fighting. This wasn't going well. Fighting with D-Boy wasn't part of the plan at all! He was supposed to get along with him! Get him on his side! Not fight with him! How could he turn this around? How could he make this situation better? Eff thought and thought, but his brain refused to give him a solution right now. He was too panicked and worked up to even think straight.

That ticked something in D-boy, and he backed off of the bed and as far from Mr. Eff as he could, while still in the room. Mr. Eff was either too desperate or too oblivious, but whatever he was he was not going to take it.

"Why can't I believe you? _Why can't I believe you_?! Oh you nearsighted little imbecile, are you listening to yourself? Maybe I can't believe you because all you've done is lie, or maybe I can't believe you because since the day we met you've been pushing me and antagonizing me! Or, maybe it was because you have never, ever shown any interest in me or how I am or how I act in any way, and have always regarded me as your worst enemy! You little shit, I should've known you were lying! Kudos for that one fucking 'talent' you have, because you sure got me good! Now we're both pathetic, worthless wretches who've gone way past desperate, does that answer your question, Mr. Fuck? Do you now understand in the slightest why I happen to be so _obsessively_ concerned with the truth in all of your words?!"

D-boy's body was shaking he was so furious, his fists were clenched so tightly that if his gloves were not there, he'd practically be stabbing into his palms. Two days may be short, but he should've known Mr. Eff was lying! When was he ever not?

He couldn't believe he got that close just to find out, wasting all that energy and time for nothing, just like always.

Before Mr. Eff could have the chance to retort, D-boy thundered out of the room, not wanting to look at his younger counterpart any longer. He didn't even want to be on the same level of the house as Mr. Eff, and he instinctively ran to the staircase and marched into the basement, managing to rush down several floors before finally tiring himself out from the anger and collapsing against a wall.

Wasn't this familiar? Deep inside the basement, huddled up against the wall, infuriated and exhausted from fighting with Mr. Eff.

Oh, look.

Even the tears were on cue.

If Eff had anything to say, he wasn't sure if he could even speak after was D-Boy said. So… he found out he was lying? So soon too! Too soon. Eff expected to have had this lie go on longer. Not only did he need D-Boy to believe him, but he also wanted him to believe him, and he sort of wanted to believe himself. But, any affection, fake or not, was no longer felt. Everything was replaced with frustration, confusion and a rather stunned feeling.

Eff was going to speak. His mouth moved to do so. But before he could get out any actual words, D-Boy stormed out of the room. Eff instinctively got out of bed, but then stopped himself. Did he really want to chase after D-Boy? ...No. Not without some sort of plan. He had to recover from this. He had to get D-Boy back to believing him. But for now, Eff had to leave D-Boy be.

He heard D-Boy's angered footsteps go down the stairs to the basement. As usual, D-Boy ran away to the basement. Most likely he was crying. If he was then it was likely D-Boy actually had feelings for Eff. Eff hurt D-Boy by lying. Oh, what a mess...

Eff rubbed his forehead a little, walking out of the bedroom. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything today. Ah, yes. Toast. A smiled returned to his face at the thought. Maybe Eff could think of a way to fix this after eating.

He went to the kitchen and fixed himself several pieces of toast. This time he tried putting some chocolately looking spread on it, and peanut better. Seemed like a good idea.

After the toast was made Eff sat on the couch, but didn't turn on the TV while he ate. Rather, he let his own thoughts be his entertainment for now. The wonderful taste of toast almost went unnoticed as he dug through his thoughts.

Eff decided to go over what happened this morning. Maybe he could figure out what to do. Eff remembered waking up first, and then D-Boy woke up. He remembered sitting up, and wanting to eat, but D-Boy wanted him to stay. Next he laid down, and they cuddled. Nothing bad happened so far. Maybe his mistake was elsewhere?

Eff continued his recap of this morning. He remembered asking D-Boy if something was wrong... why was that again? Oh, D-Boy had squeezed him for a moment. Then D-Boy asked those questions and... Something he said must've upset D-Boy. He didn't understand it completely. This was the point where things went wrong. His answer. Maybe it was... oh, right. He only mentioned things that he had discovered the previous night. That didn't prove that he had liked D-Boy before. He needed more re reasons... more 'proof' for his 'affection' for D-Boy. In other words, Eff was going to have to lie more.

If he wasn't so used to lying all the time, it would be hard to think of something. Eff smirked as another lie was put together in his head. If things went well, he could have D-Boy back to believing him.

Now the question was... what should he do now? Should he go down stairs and try to comfort D-Boy? He did seem upset. Well... no. It would be too soon. Too early to bother D-Boy again. Unless he wanted D-Boy to scream at him some more. Perhaps it would be best to let D-Boy calm down. Then he could 'apologize'. He wasn't really all that sorry, but judging from the movies he watched, apologizing helped fixing messes like this.

Eff needed to go paint the wall anyways. He didn't paint it yesterday, so he had to paint it now. It was a good time to paint too! D-Boy was busy crying, so he wouldn't be bothering him anytime soon. Eff got up off the couch, leaving the plate of toast crumbs on where he sat. He went down into the basement, making sure to avoid the area D-Boy usually went to sob his eyes out, and went into the room with the wall.

D-boy sat there for a long while, the occasional sob choking itself out of him from time to time. He just couldn't handle himself, how could he believe Mr. Eff's words so easily? After everything they'd been through, after all he said, and of course with the job D-boy was entrusted with! Mr. Eff was sleazy, he was sadistic and meticulous, but still D-boy had absolutely no excuse for falling for such a terrible, obviously hoaxed idea.

Then again, Mr. Eff's specialty had always been the social kind, taking advantage of Johnny's loneliness and want for a real friend then using it against him, since apparently his decaying rabbit corpse wasn't enough.

So, then, wouldn't that mean... ... D-boy _wanted_ Mr. Eff to be that close with him?

He tensed up at the mere thought, but he had really given up denying it. He was, after all, curled up in the basement and crying simply over Mr. Eff's lie of 'affection'. It wasn't just that he didn't want to admit it to Mr. Eff, he didn't want to admit it to _himself_! But what could he do to deny it now? Mr. Eff said such few words that were already skeptical enough, and D-boy carelessly jumped right into it, on the very off-chance that they were true.

It was shameful, feeling such admiration for such a horrible being. One who went against anything D-boy felt was important or necessary! One who went against his own creator!

Yet, one could say that was also his 'charm'.

Mr. Eff was just so ambitious, all the time, even on the littlest of things. Despite his annoyance, even D-boy found him rather delightful to be around. His smarminess and confidence was intriguing, he was the perfect rival. And D-boy didn't know when or how, but at some point in his miserable, vile little life, he had considered and decided that Mr. Eff's traits made him the perfect partner as well.

D-boy's grip around his legs tightened, and a couple of tears streamed their way down his cheeks again. He wanted to stop thinking about all of this; he wanted it to _all_ just stop. It was appalling, disgraceful and seemingly impossible, but it was the truth, and the truth he never wanted to refuse. Even if it did hurt.

Especially if it hurt.

Despite not painting the wall yesterday, it was still pretty well covered from the previous thick coat of blood. Eff really didn't need as much blood as he used the other night. He was content with slaughtering a few victims, draining their blood, and slapping it on the wall, but in the back of his mind there was a little concern for D-Boy.

He would be alright, right? He wasn't trying to kill himself over this right now, right? Eff gave the wall a quick, sloppy coat of blood. He rushed a little, feeling an extreme urge to check on D-Boy. The urge grew with every minute that passed.

It wasn't because he cared was it? No. Maybe. Eff wanted D-Boy to not kill himself. He didn't want to be alone with the stupid wall to take care of. And besides, he can't cheer up D-Boy if he was dead!

Eff left the room after what felt like hours. Despite rushing himself, he actually did spend a couple hours in there. He paused and listened. Occasionally he could hear D-Boy sob. While it was a depressing, pathetic sound, it was reassuring and it let Eff know that D-Boy was still around. Perhaps now would be the time to apologize. But, wait. This apology... it had to be convincing. It had to be sincere. Or at least seem like it. It had to be the perfect lie.

With another idea, Eff went upstairs. A few minutes later he was back in the basement. It was surprising to find D-Boy so deep into the basement, but Eff did manage to find his counterpart eventually. He brought something with him; a tissue box and a big plate of toast. Each piece of toast had a different topping like butter, cheese, chocolate, honey, and there were even some that were left plain. The tissue box was obviously for drying those tears D-Boy's eyes always leaked, and the toast was just Eff's attempt of some sort of gift. How can toast not make someone happy? It's impossible. Toast fixed a lot of things.

Eff put these things in front of D-Boy and sat next to him. He kept a little distance though, not sure if D-Boy would even want him close. "D-Boy?" Eff finally spoke up. "I would like to apologize." He then paused for a moment, and waited to see if D-Boy would respond or even allow an apology.

At the sound of another's footsteps, D-boy clenched onto himself and buried his face into his legs, hoping he would just pass by. His hope was for naught when he heard Mr. Eff speak, though. An apology would be nice, but he couldn't help but feel he didn't deserve one for being such a gullible fool. He was more deserving of being kicked in the face and laughed at, something to that extent.

"I appreciate the gesture, but honestly Mr. Eff, you're the last person I want to speak to right now." He replied, speaking louder than usual so that his voice would be clear, without having to lift up his head. He didn't want to face the other. He couldn't, not with what just happened between them. It was hard enough having him in the same room without continuing to verbally lash out at him.

"Well, then don't speak." Eff simply stated. He kept his voice calmer than usual, and slightly quieter, trying to sound as sorry as possible. It didn't matter what D-Boy wanted, this needed to be said. Or at least Eff thought so.

"Look. I'm sorry for lying to you." Eff started. He stared hard at the floor in front of him as he went over the lines in his head. "I don't like seeing you so upset. I didn't mean to hurt you." D-Boy must like him if he was so bent out of shape over his lie. "I shouldn't have lied about my feelings, but I _do_ like you." This was still a lie. Probably. He had to make this convincing either way.

"You see the real reason that I even started liking you in the first place..." Eff paused, closing his eyes, as if he was trying to remember something. "You won." He said. "It didn't matter how much I manipulated Nny or how much I cheered him up and inspired him to paint the wall. You always brought him back down to your level... and in the end, he killed himself." Eff paused again, frowning at the memory. He still remembered the way that gunshot sounded.

"I'm not exactly sure what brought us back here or what made us human, but if it hadn't... You wouldn't exist anymore. Your dream came true. Not mine." How terrifying it was, the thought of not existing. There was no freedom in non-existence.

"You could say I am little jealous, but the way you won that war of ours... it was really admirable." The feeling of getting what you wanted must have felt great for D-Boy. Eff couldn't wait until he was able to feel such a wonderful feeling.

D-boy was silent as he took in what Mr. Eff said. That was his reasoning? He... admired D-boy for 'winning'?

He wasn't so much bothered by the reason itself, as his was pretty similar, but at the fact that Mr. Eff considered this 'winning', a new kind of anger rose deep inside of him. "Look at us, Mr. Eff." He said as he stood up, still refusing to face him. "I did not 'win', as you put it. If anything, I lost, and I lost big time. All I wanted was nothingness. Not even for anyone else, but for myself. I wanted it all to end, but does this look like the end to you? No, this is a beginning. _Your_ beginning. _**You**_ won, not I. You persuaded Johnny, and at the last moment he wanted to live, the only thing that stopped him was his pathetic loneliness driving him to pick up that phone. Then it all happened, and I should've won, but I didn't. We were placed here, and we're real now. You can enjoy your life, take others' lives..." He looked down at Mr. Eff's plate of toast placed upon the floor, and he grimaced. "And you can have your silly little toast, without a single care in the world. What more could you possibly want? You have everything you've ever dreamed of! For me on the other hand, this world is useless, with whatever it holds. The only thing that ever really made me pause on it... was you. But really, thanks to your little fabrication of feelings, I don't have to worry about that decision anymore. I have it all figured out. All of this reminded me of exactly why we were enemies in the first place."

His voice was low and eerily calm, but his looks deceived his tone as he tipped his head up and glared at Mr. Eff, his blue eyes piercing him like the ice they resembled.

"I'm not going to be like Johnny. I'm not a part of him anymore, so I won't make the same mistake. I won't let something as measly as companionship get. In. My. Way."

Eff stood up along with D-Boy. He wondered if he had said something wrong, and if D-Boy was going to storm off again. He was surprised when he got that speech. It was rare for Eff to actually listen to D-Boy's words, but he did this time.

D-Boy's perspective on their situation was interesting, as well as his perspective on Eff. Did Eff really win? Well, with how D-Boy put it, it did actually did seem like Eff got what he wanted. But it was a complete fluke that they were even here, standing as humans! Eff didn't see this as a victory; he saw it as a second chance. A second chance that shouldn't have happened.

D-Boy's last words gave Eff the most horrible feeling, and his glare sent a chill down his spine. What was this? Was he offended that D-Boy wasn't believing him? Was he hurt that D-Boy decided that he wasn't going to let companionship get in his way? Whatever it was, Eff did his best not to return the glare and keep his frustration from raising his voice. He didn't want to turn this into another fight. D-Boy would just walk away and go cry some more.

"You don't understand, D-Boy, I _don't_ have everything I want." Eff took in a breath, trying to remain calm. It was so hard not to scream and push his words into D-Boy's skull. "I want you to enjoy this life, worthless or not, _with_ me. I want you to be happy. Yes, I did lie, and I apologize again for that, but it wasn't all untrue. I was trying to say the things you wanted to hear instead of what I actually felt. I like you D-Boy, and if I didn't, I wouldn't even have tried to come down here with a plate of 'silly little toast' and apologize. Not all my feelings are fabrications. There's some truth to what I've said to you."

He paused for a moment, and looked away from that icy glare of D-Boy's. Eff almost looked like he was holding back an urge to cry. He bit his lip, closed his eyes and sighed. Eff didn't like this feeling at all. Maybe he was disappointed. Really disappointed. But he had to keep his composure and continue to talk. He had to let D-Boy know how he felt.

Eff reopened his eyes and spoke again, but he didn't look at D-Boy. "I don't want you to kill yourself, D-Boy. I know you don't want to exist anymore, but to be honest, if you didn't exist I would..." He paused again, almost afraid to admit such a thing to D-Boy.

"I would be alone." Eff glanced at D-Boy with the most pathetic look he could manage to imitate. Something had to get to D-Boy. Something had to work. Fuck, even Eff was having a hard time telling whether the words spewing out of his mouth were lies or not anymore. He wasn't even sure how he truly felt anymore either.

"Oh Mr. Eff, haven't you noticed by now? Do my words really fly past you that easily?" D-boy snickered, but his frown only intensified before he began wandering around the room, looking around as if searching for something. "The only thing that would make me truly happy is what you're keeping from me. All this trouble, and for what? To keep yourself from getting a bit lonely?" Mr. Eff didn't even know what loneliness was. He hadn't experienced it, no… D-boy was acquainted with it well, what it truly was like. His eyes scanned the items of the room here and there, certainly in Johnny's house any room would have that all-too-familiar object. As he brushed some of the boxes that decorated the area, he felt a blade and his eyes widened, and he quickly snatched the gleaming, small, overused weapon and held it close before continuing.

"Do you really want to pester me for the rest of our lives, or have me do the same? Or maybe... you think you can _save_ me. Will you love me...? Take care of me...? Heal all my pain?" He hissed sarcastically, stopping in place.

"... That's what I thought. Don't fret Mr. Eff, you'll never be lonely again." He swerved around and leered at him, taking a deep breath as he gripped his weapon closely. Raising it, and with a quick dash, D-boy swung the knife at his counterpart. "There'll be plenty of company _IN __**HELL**_!"

Eff didn't like D-Boy's tone. Something was off. Something was starting to make him feel uneasy. He listened to D-Boy's words. They were almost mocking him. He listened some more. They _were_ mocking him! Sarcasm was laced through each syllable! Whether Eff's words were true or not, being made fun of was not something he would put up with!

He stopped trying holding back his frustrated tone. "D-Boy, you shortsighted mite, all I wanted was you to fucking **try** to enjoy life! Really, if you just tried it **once** you would-" Eff paused when D-Boy swerved to face him.

Wait. Wait. WAIT. There was a knife in D-Boy's hand! How the fuck did he not notice that sooner? A hand instinctively went for his pocket so he could grab his own knife.

D-Boy wasn't going to storm out of this conversation to cry. No. He was going to do something Eff never had expected D-Boy would ever do, at least, not without the proper manipulation.

But his hand didn't reach his own weapon in time. D-Boy had suddenly dashed at him, and he had to change what he was doing in milliseconds. Eff did move back to try and dodge the knife, but he stumbled on the plate of toast he had left on the ground. Not only did his feet crack the plate and squished perfectly good toast, but Eff didn't even move nearly enough to avoid the knife. He wouldn't have time to mourn over the precious bread product. He was about to be stabbed.

D-boy couldn't believe he did it, he could barely even register it for the moment, but he did it. Whether it was the animalistic instinct flowing through the insides of his human body, or he was truly driven off of the deep end, he attacked Mr. Eff, and he succeeded.

He shoved the knife into Mr. Eff's shoulder, and dug it in as far as he possibly could. Mr. Eff's blood spilled rapidly from the wound, causing D-boy to get covered in the thick, warm liquid as it sprayed out in all directions. He could've stopped there, but he didn't. Oh no, his fury was far from satiated at this point, he wanted to make this hurt.

With a quick blow, D-boy socked Mr. Eff is the stomach, knocking him over and forcing the knife in even deeper. He then proceeded to repeatedly kick him as hard as he could muster, the adrenaline pumping through his veins viscously with each strike. He wanted to say something to Mr. Eff, to vent at him, mock him, taunt him, ANYTHING! But all that came out were angry grunts as he delivered as much agony as he could at this point, as if any knowledge or vocabulary he had was simply thrown out of the window.

The only thing his mind could focus on through the ire was 'Kill him. _Kill him_. _**Kill him**_. _**KILL HIM**_.'

He kicked and kicked, until he felt so drained that he could fall over any moment himself. He couldn't hold his repugnant emotions back, and the tears flowed from his eyes once more. He panted as he stared down at Mr. Eff, who was- _hopefully_- deceased.

... Was that it?

Was Mr. Eff really dead?

D-boy dealt more damage than he thought he could, but was it enough? Was this really the end? What a thought, if one doughboy killed the other, you'd imagine it to be Mr. Eff who did the deed. The whole situation felt like a thought itself almost, an imaginary scenario.

But Mr. Eff laid there, still as any other thing in the room, save for his twitching shoulder from the knife. It was rather hard to watch, D-boy didn't often see the grotesque happenings to the victims; he simply heard the sounds in the safe confines of the upstairs, hearing their hopeless cries for help. Now it was Mr. Eff who was the hopeless one. Huh.

If Mr. Eff was truly gone, D-boy wouldn't have a thing to worry about. He'd just scrape the paint off of the wall, then his Master would be free, and so would he. It was so simple... Too simple. He pitied Mr. Eff for having to go out in such a barbaric way, it didn't suit him. D-boy pitied himself, too. He could have waited. He could have left, like he always did. Moped. Cried. Fought with Mr. Eff. Same old, same old. But no, Mr. Eff was most likely dead, and D-boy had the fucking _nerve_ to CRY ABOUT HIS OWN DOING. Oh, the raging horror of it all, indeed...

Eff cried out when the knife plunged into his shoulder. Things seemed to slow down for Eff, and yet he couldn't react or defend himself from D-Boy's assault. Blood went everywhere. Waves of pain shot through his shoulder making him wince. His hands moved to attempt to block the wound and stop blood flow. Maybe he could have done something. Maybe he could have grabbed his weapon from his pocket and stabbed D-Boy back. But before he could even attempt, stunned with pain and blood loss, he was knocked off his feet thanks to a harsh blow to the stomach.

Eff would have cried out again, if the wind hadn't been pushed out of him from that punch. Instead he gasped and whimpered. He couldn't even recover from that. He didn't have a chance to move out of the way. D-Boy immediately started kicking him harshly.

Eff closed his eyes, hissing in pain. He tried blocking with his good arm, but it wasn't really much use. This was painful and unpleasant. Painful enough that some tears managed to slip through his tightly shut eyes. There were a few choked cries after the first few kicks, but then, as if Eff had given up, he went quiet. His body stilled.

It seemed like a while before the kicks were over. Now there was an odd silence in the room. Was Eff dead? Of course not! He wouldn't let D-Boy kill him, but he knew how hopeless the situation was. Instead of fighting back Eff had settled on giving up and letting D-Boy attack him until he was satisfied. Unfortunately, D-Boy had shown no mercy to Eff and had beaten half to death, knocking him unconscious.

Spit and blood leaked from his mouth, and there were fresh bruises all over him where D-Boy had kicked him. Not to mention his shoulder was in terrible shape, and had a deep wound. It wasn't bleeding as much as it had been, but there was already a good amount of blood that had escaped and stained Eff's shirt. If only he hadn't been caught off guard, Eff could have turned this situation around.

It seemed like Eff wasn't breathing, until his body managed to let out a weak cough.

D-boy nearly squealed when the silence was broken by... Mr. Eff? He was still alive? Hope was both restored and destroyed at this. Even though it was just a quiet cough, it was still something. If Mr. Eff was still alive though, D-boy's only problem was what he would do if that was the case.

What could he say? 'Sorry for trying to kill you'? Granted, he wasn't sure if he was sorry or not yet, but still. For now though, there was a chance Mr. Eff was alive, and he had to act upon it somehow. He... could just let him die. In fact, he could finish him off right here, but now that he finally had the ability to think coherently again, all he could think about was Mr. Eff's words.

... Was he really sincere about that apology? Maybe Mr. Eff really did like him, but was just terrible at expressing it? He was worse, his counterpart at least tried to explain his feelings. All he did was dwell on and deny the thoughts. Looking down at the poor, battered body of his potential partner as these thoughts raced through his mind slowly created a horrid, painful feeling inside of him.

He'd never felt this kind of depression before, it nearly felt physical. In fact, it did feel physical! There was an ache within his chest! What the fuck could even-

Oh.

_Oh_.

So _this_ was what guilt felt like.

D-boy had never felt guilty before. He always had a reason for the things he'd said and done, and if not good reasons, at least reasons nonetheless. He'd always stick to verbal retorts, even when at his breaking points; he never tried to get physical. It was simply unnecessary.

But now... not only did he assault Mr. Eff, he assaulted him for apologizing. Sure, he had the right to be hurt, he had the right to be angry, but... Did Mr. Eff deserve that? Well... Yes, but not from D-boy. That was uncalled for, even if he was provoked. He could've given Mr. Eff logical, thought-out answers! He could've persuaded him!

Maybe... Maybe they could've gotten over it, even! This guilt trip was painful; D-boy had to do _something_ for Mr. Eff.

Perhaps saving his life would be a friendly gesture.

Yes, D-boy knew at least a couple of things in the medical field, he was able to help Mr. Eff with his stomachache even, but this was a fucking stab wound. Not to mention the bruises he must have on his abdomen. Oh well, he had to start somewhere.

He bent down beside Mr. Eff, and slid him into a proper position to work on. It probably wouldn't be wise to take the knife out, but leaving it in also didn't seem like a grand idea. Carefully, D-boy grasped onto the handle and tugged, and the knife began to shift out, causing more blood to spurt out from the opening. Shit, this thing was in deep! Still, he needed to get it out to stop the blood from draining more than it had already, so he continued to tug until he finally pried it out. He immediately tossed the knife aside and looked around for something to cover the wound with, there had to be something!

No cloths, no towels, no blankets, no bandages, and they were way too deep within the basement for him to run back and forth, what could he use? His eyes darted around the room, then back to Mr. Eff, and realization hit D-boy like an arrow to the brain. Of course, their outfits were covered in stupid little cloth doo-dads! Quickly, he untied his own ascot, and wrapped it around Mr. Eff's injury, tightening it enough to make sure it would stay on for at least long enough to get some proper bandages.

Well, he stopped the bleeding for the time being, but now he needed to really help Mr. Eff. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for all of those stairs, and moved his hands underneath the other. It was shaky at first, having only done this once before, but D-boy managed to hoist Mr. Eff up and over his shoulder, and shuffled towards the staircase.

It felt like hours when they finally reached the top level of the house, but D-boy knew his trip wasn't over yet. He ran (or at least moved as fast as he could, carrying someone twice his own weight) towards the bedroom, and tossed Mr. Eff onto the bed, too exhausted to place him down gently. Oh well, at least they made it to the bedroom.

Now came the hard part. Mr. Eff's cut needed to be stitched up, but neither of them were in the shape for such a procedure at the moment. Mr. Eff would need to be bathed first to clean the wounds. Did Mr. Eff even bathe in the first place?

The guilt was looming over D-boy still as he looked over his younger companion, the companion he desired to do away with just an hour or so ago. He had to do something to make him feel better, at least emotionally. What could cheer Mr. Eff after an event like this? What would keep him from trying to throw D-boy into one of the many torture devices? Or, at least keep his own conscience from doing the same.

Well, that was obvious.

D-boy hurriedly made his way to the kitchen, and was pleased to see that Mr. Eff left the bread and toppings out in a fine condition. Thank God for him being such a slob when his mind was occupied. He'd seen Mr. Eff do this many times, he knew the whole procedure: Put the bread in the toaster, push the button down, wait, take out toast, and slather whatever was lying around on top of it. Thankfully he wasn't around to see D-boy jump in terror each time the toast popped out.

After several minutes, D-boy had stacked at least twenty different topped toasts neatly on a plate, and waltzed back over to the bedroom, placing the foodstuff on the end table beside Mr. Eff. He knew how dearly Mr. Eff loved toast and how happy it made him, but he felt it still wasn't enough.

Johnny left paper and pencils scattered around his room all of the time for doodling, maybe D-boy could write Mr. Eff a letter? Yes, that was good, but what could he write? How could he apologize to Mr. Eff for being such a thoughtless monster? What could properly describe his feelings about the whole situation?

D-boy picked up one of the pencils and a sheet of paper and pondered for awhile, before finally coming up with the most eloquent and heartfelt apology he could imagine.


	5. Sorry For Trying To Kill You

It was quite some time before Eff woke up. Even Eff was surprised he woken up. A part of him expected him to be dead.

He groaned in pain as he became conscious once more, not wanting to open his eyes. For once he would rather be asleep. At least if he was he wouldn't feel as awful as he did right now. He felt like... like... Well, he felt like someone stabbed him in the shoulder and harshly kicked him over and over. This was one of the downfalls of being human. Eff could feel this terrible pain from his wound and bruises. As styrofoam, even though he wasn't real, he couldn't feel physical pain. That was probably the only good thing about his previous form. Eff had felt pain before, but never as badly as this. Even being sick felt better than this.

Eff finally opened his eyes and took in a deep breath, as if to confirm that he was still alive. His chest pinched with pain as the air filled his lungs. Breathing hurt too. Eff would have to make sure not to breathe too hard to avoid disturbing any possibly cracked ribs.

The lack of light coming through the boarded windows suggested that it was now night. This made Eff wonder how long he had actually been unconscious. He hoped it had only been a few hours and not days.

Eff shifted slightly and heard a creak. This made him realized he was in that old bed that was in Nny's room. If Eff recalled correctly, he should have been on the floor in one of the deeper levels of the basement. That's where he fell unconscious at least. How did he get here? Did D-Boy carry him up here? Why would he?

Eff remembered that D-Boy had tried to kill him. He wasn't very... happy with that fact. Actually, it pissed him off! He tried to be nice and apologize! He even brought D-Boy tissues and toast! He did all of that and ended up with a knife in his shoulder! Never would Eff imagine that D-Boy would react in such a way. Well, if D-Boy thinks he could just get away with such a thing, he's dead wrong! There was no point at trying to manipulate D-Boy and get him on his side if he was just going to try and kill him! Eff should just give D-Boy what he wants and end his life! At least dead D-Boy won't get in the way of his work. Eff doubted he could pretend to be nice to D-Boy again. He wanted to slaughter him and feed him to his own—

His thoughts paused. Eff noticed that there was a stack of toast next to him on the nightstand. A. Huge. Stack. Of. _Toast_. It was a beautiful sight to see all that toast. All the anger he was feeling subsided and was replaced with his affection for toast.

It was going to hurt, but Eff sat up as carefully as possible. He leaned on his good... or better arm, and used it to push himself up, trying to avoid disturbing his bad shoulder. Eff winced and hissed as his body ached, and his shoulder shot another wave of pain through him when he moved. Eff wasn't discouraged though. He couldn't not eat the toast. It was sitting _right there_, begging to be eaten after all! He almost needed to munch on it as much as he needed to breathe.

Eff took a piece off the top, using his good arm again, and bit out of it. Even though it was obviously made several hours before, it was still delicious and it made him absolutely overjoyed to have such a treat after being beaten so badly. Eff couldn't help but to smile.

Then he realized something. He didn't make this toast. Again, the only possible answer was that D-Boy made it. So D-Boy pulled Eff out of the basement and made him toast? Was D-Boy... _sorry_? Well, that could be the reason why D-Boy just didn't leave Eff to die in the basement, or finish him off. D-Boy did have the opportunity to kill him, and yet he didn't take it. This puzzled Eff a little. Why would D-Boy try to kill him and not finish him off?

As he ate the toast in thought his eyes glanced around the room. His gaze went to his hurt shoulder. The knife wasn't there anymore. The fabric of his shirt was stained and stiffened from the amount of blood that had dried on it. And, surprisingly, D-Boy's ascot was around the wound. It was tightly tied around his shoulder, obviously put there to stop the blood flow. This provided more proof that D-Boy was indeed sorry. Maybe sometime after Eff fell unconscious, D-Boy realized what he was doing and changed his mind? Perhaps. And maybe he didn't kill him because he liked Eff. Oh, right. Eff remembered that D-Boy actually liked him. It almost made him feel bad for trying to lie to him this whole time, though... maybe everything wasn't a lie. Still, he was trying to deceive D-Boy. In this case, it probably saved his ass. If Eff hadn't tried to apologize and express his feelings like he did, surely D-Boy would have actually killed him.

As he took a second piece of toast off the stack he noticed a piece of paper on the night stand. Eff put the toast in his mouth to free his good hand and grabbed the paper to look at it. It was a note, and it wasn't written in Nny's handwriting either.

'Sorry for trying to kill you.'

Well, that wasn't the most heartfelt apology of the year, but it did confirm Eff's thoughts. D-Boy was sorry, but Eff wasn't sure if he could forgive D-Boy. D-Boy did save his life, but on the other hand, he was also the one who put it in danger. This was going to take some thinking.

Eff was hurting too much to keep sitting up like he was, so he put the plate of toast on his lap, where he could reach it to eat more, and laid down. He continued to eat the toast as he thought. Should he forgive D-Boy? Should he continue pretending he liked him? What if this sort of thing happened again? Well, Eff wouldn't let it happen again. He would have to be more careful around D-Boy.

He didn't like being in such bad shape. It was painful, yes, but being in this condition would certainly affect his ability to kill and paint the wall. That's what worried Eff the most. He needed to get better soon, and if not, he had to work anyways. His master wasn't going to wait for him to recover, so he wasn't going to wait to paint the wall.

But tonight, Eff guessed he could try to relax some. His shoulder pain was borderline unbearable, even though he was leaving it alone, and the rest of his body still ached from being beaten so badly. He was in no condition to work on the wall tonight. Perhaps he could try tomorrow.

Eff was about half way through with the stack of toast, when he stopped eating. He started to get a little bored with his thoughts. He really couldn't do anything just laying here with toast. He began to wonder where D-Boy was. Probably somewhere nearby, maybe on the first floor.

Perhaps it was for the best. If he had been there when Eff woke up, despite his condition, Eff most certainly would have tried to attack him.

Eff debated on whether he even wanted to talk to D-Boy or not. He wanted to get out of bed. Maybe he could manage to get to the couch? At least then he could watch TV and not be as bored as he was staring at the ceiling. It was decided then! Eff was going to get himself up and go to the living room and watch TV. He wasn't going to call for D-Boy for help either. Eff was sure he could do this on his own.

He struggled to sit up again. Sitting up for a second time was actually harder than he thought. Thankfully he had eaten enough of the toast stack so it wouldn't fall over with the movement.

Once he managed to sit up, Eff picked up the toast and put it back on the night stand. He would like to bring it with him, but he needed to have his good hand free, so he could use it to help himself off the bed.

Eff gripped the nightstand for support as he moved himself to the edge of the bed. He was a little overconfident in his ability to stand. As a result, when he stood up too quickly his legs immediately gave out underneath him, and Eff ended up on the floor with a thud. Even worse, he landed on the side with his bad shoulder.

"FUCK!" He cursed out in pain and growled, immediately moving off of his bad shoulder. He winced and curled up in pain on the floor. Eff gripped his shoulder. The pain coming from it was strong enough to cause his eyes to tear up.

Honestly, Eff thought he wouldn't need help. He didn't want help. But damnit did his shoulder hurt! He couldn't bring himself to get up off the ground due to the immense pain in his shoulder. Eff was going to have to wait for this pain to fade if he was ever going to get himself off this floor.

D-boy paced back and forth through the living room, pondering on what he should do when Mr. Eff woke up, practically biting into his glove with one hand, clutching his body with the other. His stomach growled continuously as he moved from the lack of nourishment for the day, but he paid no mind to it. Now was not a time for eating, now was a time for thinking. Lots of thinking.

Thinking wasn't going so well...

This was terrible, what could he say to Mr. Eff after what he did? Should he even go near him at this point? When he woke up, he'd probably be furious and try to move after D-boy, which would increase the pain, which would just make him even _more_ furious. D-boy had such a great chance to accept Mr. Eff's apology and continue on with whatever pointless antics they'd do until they just died by Master's ha... tentacles, but he went off and fucked it up by getting so overemotional about it. Granted, he did in fact have the right to, considering how Mr. Eff lied to him like the douchebag he was, but the fact still stood that D-boy ruined everything by thrashing at him.

He was the one who came to the conclusion that fighting was a waste of time, so why didn't he listen to Mr. Eff? Why didn't he listen to himself? He wanted to curse at these dreaded human instincts, but he remained unsure of whether it was really just the instincts or not.

He was hurt badly... Not as badly as Mr. Eff was right now, but badly nonetheless.

Although, there was still the possibility that Mr. Eff was finally telling the truth and that he really did feel that way about D-boy, but if that was the case, what the fuck was the point of lying in the first place? It made not a lick of sense!

D-boy continued to grasp onto the chance of their feelings for one another being similar, even if it was just a sliver of hope. After all, whether it was the truth or not, he'd find out eventually, even if it was the hard way... But that was an option that might've already been long gone. They fought, and they both ended up in pain, even if it was a different kind. What could he possibly-

"FUCK!"

D-boy jolted from his thoughts at the sound of Mr. Eff's voice, and a very loud thump from the bedroom. What the Hell just happened? Without hesitation, D-boy hurried towards the noise's source to find Mr. Eff curled up on the floor, tearing up as he clutched his wounded shoulder. It was a rather dreadful sight, as Mr. Eff obviously couldn't get up on his own at this rate, but D-boy still wasn't sure if he should risk getting too close to Mr. Eff without his consent.

Eff didn't notice D-Boy in the room at all. All of his attention was focused on the pain in his shoulder. "Fuck, fuck, fuckety FUCK!" He continued to curse in agony. Tears were beginning to stream down his face. This pain was terrible! But he couldn't sit here and cry on the floor all night!

Eff refused to stay on the floor. He let go of his shoulder, despite it not hurting any less, and tried using his good arm and knees to push himself up. His body trembled, straining to hold itself up. He was in too much pain to even sit up on his knees. Eff eventually gave up and collapsed back onto the ground, taking care not to bump his shoulder again on the floorboards.

Well, the floor was certainly 'comfy' tonight. Had D-Boy heard him? If he was in the basement, it would have been unlikely. Once Eff actually looked to see, D-Boy was right there. How long had he been standing there? Was he finding his pain amusing? Eff could only guess he was. D-Boy did enjoy seeing others in pain after all.

Eff frowned and looked away, much too stubborn to ask for help. He would rather lie on the floor and wait for his shoulder to feel better so he could get up on his own.

"I would ask if you are okay, but I think you've answered that well enough." D-boy stated, his tone being nonchalant, but his clear expression of worry deceiving that. He wanted to let Mr. Eff get up on his own, but it was obvious enough that, at least for the moment, he was incapable of it.

D-boy decided to risk Mr. Eff's stubbornness (which matched his own, of course) and carefully moved his hands underneath Mr. Eff's arms, slowly lifting him up to a sitting position and setting him against the bed. A small interval was had from D-boy, the need for speaking to Mr. Eff rising, but very few words came to mind. He already picked Mr. Eff up without his permission, he didn't need to provoke his parallel any more than he already had, but for once this silence felt rather uncomfortable.

"I don't know what came over me." He began, improvising with his lack of a proper train of thought. "And I'm greatly sorry for that. I just... I guess I just got caught up in the moment, you would call it? Something to that extent, at least. I mean, I've never felt that way before, that kind of anger! It came out of nowhere! I couldn't have been thinking straight, must've been too emotional. You of all people know that I simply do not have it in me to go through with something like that! Well, I hope not. Physical harm is too brutal, it just doesn't suit me. I can get malicious of course; I know that, but..." He sighed; he was getting too off-track, if there was even one to begin with. He was jumping from word-to-word senselessly; he needed to just get out what was necessary.

"... Look, the point is, I accept your apology. In fact, I thank you for it! I was merely not in the mood, and I hope you can accept my pathetic attempt at an apology as well."

Eff was in too much pain to really care if D-Boy moved him or not. It was rather nice of him to put Eff in a sitting position though since being on the floor like a dead fish was not very pleasant.

It took a moment for Eff to register that D-Boy was talking to him, and another moment to realize that he was apologizing. For once, D-Boy's words didn't sound very thought out. It almost sounded like he was just saying whatever words wanted to fall out of his mouth.

After D-Boy seemed to be finished speaking, Eff debated on how to respond. Should he be angry? Should he just be glad that D-Boy accepted his apology? Should he accept D-Boy's apology as well?

"...I'm glad that you've finally accepted my apology, D-Boy, but was the violence really necessary?" He asked, his voice was pained and Eff sounded upset. "It's not like, if I'm in a bad mood, and you try to talk to me, that I'll fucking stab you in the shoulder without warning!" Of course, then again, it was hard to catch Eff in a bad mood. With the exception of his mood currently, Eff was usually rather cheery.

"And you really do suck at killing, you know that?" Eff assumed D-Boy intended on killing him at least. "Next time you should at least try to aim for something more vital. Please, spare me the agony, and if you want to kill me, just end me properly! You made a complete fool of yourself mocking murder like that!" Eff paused to wince in pain and catch his breath. Even talking hurt. God damnit, couldn't he just do something as simple as talking without his body aching?

"...I'm going to be the better... _man_," he was a man now, wasn't he? "...here, though."

Eff seemed to calm down a little. Whether it was because he wanted to or had to because it hurt too much to continue being upset was unclear.

"I'll accept your apology, D-Boy..." Oh, yes, he was going to accept that apology. "...but..." It was hard not to smirk. It would probably hurt to do so. "... you're going to have to help me until I feel better." This was almost perfect! D-Boy obviously felt guilty about hurting him, so why not use that guilt against him? Eff wondered if such a thing would get D-Boy to help him with the wall, even if it was temporary. It would still be delightful, and a step in the right direction.

D-boy was rather miffed as Mr. Eff's reply, but at least it was better than the reaction he was expecting. Then again, how _could_ Mr. Eff bludgeon him with the toaster? Oh well, at least he accepted the apology, and that was relieving enough.

He cocked an eyebrow up at Mr. Eff's last words, though. "Of course I'm going to have to help you while you heal, you idiot! What, did you really think you'd manage to do anything with injuries like that?!" He snapped back, before sighing again to calm himself down. "No, the violence wasn't necessary, but as I explained it was all by impulse. Unless, of course..." He chuckled, "You want me to finish the job, Mr. Eff." He said this without any hint of sarcasm, even though he knew Mr. Eff was probably just saying that in his 'defense' of his favorite hobby.

... Although, if Mr. Eff really _did_ want D-boy to finish the job, he would gladly oblige without any delay. A willing murder, and then suicide! Oh, how fun that would be indeed! If only, if only...

It would be a dream come true for D-Boy if Eff agreed to let him kill him, but Eff wasn't planning on dying any time soon. "No, no... It may be painful, but it's just another sign that I'm alive." Eff said, trying to look on the brighter side of things. He always seemed to find something to be happy about, even in a situation like this. He did his best to smile, but only managed a small pained one.

This pain sucked, yes, but it was just more proof that he was real; that he was human. Really, Eff should be glad to have such feelings, but again, it was quite painful, and pain was the least enjoyable part about being human.

D-Boy had agreed to help him quite quickly. It made Eff wonder if D-Boy knew what he was agreeing to. "You're going to help me, right? Does this mean you'll even assist me with the wall?" Eff questioned, holding back the urge to smirk and instead put on a rather pitiful look. It wasn't really hard to fake, since he was actually in a ton of pain. He wasn't really expecting for D-Boy to agree to it, but Eff was going to do his best to fill him with guilt. And if that guilt managed to make D-Boy help him with the wall... well... it would be a nice accomplishment.

At Mr. Eff's question, D-boy's casual expression darkened to a look of grim displeasure in a matter of seconds. "No, Mr. Eff. I'll help you with anything else, but I will never, ever, under any circumstances, help you with _that_. If you want that task done, you're going to have to do it yourself. I refuse to disgrace our Master in such a way." He replied, his voice reflecting every bit of contempt he felt towards that vile act.

Slathering that putrid, red bodily fluid upon that wall to thicken their own Master's lock was revolting enough to look at, but to actually engage in it would be appalling! He would rather chop his own arms off before doing such a thing to his Master!

Then again, he would rather chop his own arms off than anything.

Eff would have been disappointed, but he knew that was going to be D-Boy's answer. It didn't hurt to ask though. It was much too early to expect D-Boy to help him with the wall. They had to get closer or... what was the word? Bond? Well, the point was, there needed to be more affection involved if Eff was ever going to get D-Boy on his side.

For now, seeing how badly that question had bothered D-Boy, Eff decided to change the subject. "Then would you mind helping me get to the couch? I would like to watch some TV." That's what he was trying to do before he fell on his shoulder anyways. Eff still wasn't too positive on his ability to stand, and his shoulder hadn't calmed down that much at all. How long was it going to hurt like this? Would his shoulder be in this much pain until he healed? Well, hopefully the TV would help distract him from his shoulder for a while.

"Yeah, that I can do." D-boy said, still rather disturbed from the image of painting the wall. Once again he placed his hands underneath Mr. Eff's arms, sacrificing carefulness for speed as he pulled Mr. Eff up and dragged him off to the living room, before placing him onto the couch.

D-boy was feeling worn-out himself by now, but he knew Mr. Eff. He wasn't going to be getting rest anytime soon. Nevertheless, he plopped himself onto the couch beside the other to catch a breath. All he'd been doing today was worrying, arguing, and dragging Mr. Eff around since he woke up. It was a little more than exhausting, even if he was the one who caused most of it...

Eff was glad to have D-Boy help him move, although being dragged did bother his shoulder a little. He winced slightly, but tried not to grab at his shoulder or anything. He didn't want to irritate it even more. But finally being on the couch was nice.

Eff grabbed the nearby remote and turned the TV on. As he was flipping through the channels to find something to watch he glanced at D-Boy who had sat down next to him. D-Boy looked tired already, despite he had only dragged Eff to the couch. Eff knew he could take advantage of his condition and make D-Boy run around and drag him places and make him tons of toast, but... _but_ that wouldn't be the nice thing to do. He was trying to be nicer to D-Boy. How else was he going to get him on his side? Maybe it would just be nice to relax with D-Boy for a while.

Eff didn't even bother to ask. He went right ahead and laid down to rest, putting his head on D-Boy's lap. Laying down made him much more comfortable than sitting up, and he couldn't lay down without making contact with D-Boy in some way anyways since the couch was rather small. And even better, this was one of those affection-y things. Hopefully D-Boy wouldn't mind.

D-boy was proud of himself for not jumping right off of the fucking couch as Mr. Eff laid his head down on his legs; that must've meant they were getting closer to one another. That, or D-boy was just too tired to care right now. Option two was probably it, as he could feel himself nod off with each passing minute.

A thought occurred to him, as his mind calmed down and wandered. Mr. Eff laying his head on D-boy vaguely reminded him of when he accidentally rested upon Mr. Eff's shoulder at the movie theaters... When he pondered it, though, without the shock of that moment, it was pretty pleasant. Same with when he was comforting Mr. Eff when he got ill. Would he still need comforting? He did, after all, say that he needed D-boy to care for him right now, so...

Slowly, D-boy placed his hand underneath Mr. Eff's hat and brushed his hair gently.

It felt rather calming... _petting_ Mr. Eff, but even through D-boy's gloves Mr. Eff's hair felt rather thick and matted with grease. He must've not taken a bath in awhile, or... Wait, bath? D-boy shifted his eyes towards the cut in Mr. Eff's shoulder, and was unable to keep himself from jumping slightly this time. His ascot was practically as red as Mr. Eff's! It, along with Mr. Eff's shirt, was absolutely drenched in his blood, and it was certainly not finished flowing. They didn't have time to relax, that cut needed attention, and fucking _fast_.

D-boy grabbed Mr. Eff and pushed him up, gripping onto his arms to prepare to drag him along in moments. "Mr. Eff, we really need to do something about that wound of yours. I need to examine it, because it might be infected."

It actually felt rather comfortable to have his head laying on D-Boy's lap. If his shoulder wasn't in so much pain, Eff would consider cuddling a little. But for now he focused his attention on the TV, doing his best to ignore the pain coming from his wounded shoulder.

His attention was broken when he felt D-Boy's hand brush through his hair. It almost felt like D-Boy was... petting him. It was a nice feeling, and was very soothing. Eff was almost tempted to close his eyes and relax even more at the feeling, but that urge was stopped when D-Boy suddenly grabbed him and pushed him up.

Eff gave D-Boy a disapproving frown. He had just gotten comfortable, and D-Boy just messed up their affection-y moment! "My wound? You mean my shoulder? It's fine-"

Eff looked at his shoulder again. His face paled at the sight. It wasn't like he wasn't used to seeing blood; it was the fact that he was seeing his own blood that bothered him. Honestly, Eff had thought his wound had stopped bleeding, but it must have started up again when he fell on it earlier.

Still, Eff wanted to deny anything was wrong. "...I'm sure the bleeding will stop soon. Can't we leave it be for a while?" Eff stubbornly tugged at his good arm, to try and get it out of D-Boy's grasp, but he didn't dare bother the arm with the wounded shoulder. Eff would much rather watch more TV than pay attention to his shoulder. He figured if he just left it alone, it would get better on its own.

"Look, if you want to die, that's perfectly fine with me. Go for it. If you want to live, though, move your ass up." D-boy was stern. On any other occasion he wouldn't care as much about such a thing, but seeing as how he was 'assigned' by Mr. Eff to take care of him, this was made his job.

And he did his jobs efficiently.

"Because you see, Mr. Eff, if you've learned anything from those people you torture and drain down in that basement, if that wound isn't taken care of..." D-boy grabbed his ascot and untied it, before tugging it from Mr. Eff's arm, revealing the wound itself. "_That_ is going to get much, much worse."

The skin around the wound was sticky from blood and sweat, as it was unattended and only wrapped up with a cloth material. The wound itself was grotesque, what with the flesh being parted so much and blood bubbling up and out of it quickly, since they had moved Mr. Eff around so much.

D-boy felt disgusted, but not from the wound, no. He felt disgusted with the knowledge that he had done such a thing to someone other than himself. Sure it wasn't in a vital area, but he had stabbed the knife in so far (probably causing much damage to the muscles), and twisted it around so much that it would take weeks for it to heal!

D-boy wanted to help Mr. Eff. The guilt was drilling into him, and he just couldn't take it. It wasn't just the want; he _had_ to help him, especially since he doubted Mr. Eff would know jack-shit about sewing up wounds.

D-Boy was practically ordering Eff to move, but he did have a good reason. After seeing his own wound, Eff understood that it would need attention _now_, not later. This wasn't some small cut wound; this was a serious stab wound, and a very deep one at that. He was almost sickened at the sight of seeing such a disturbing, bleeding wound on himself. Eff almost wanted to cover it up with his hand, naturally wanting to stop the bleeding, but at the same time he didn't want to touch and bother the wound.

"Alright, alright... Let's just get it over with." For once Eff agreed with D-Boy. This wound clearly needed to be cleaned, and the blood needed to be stopped before Eff loss too much. As much as he would like to stand on his own, Eff remembered his last attempt resulted with him on the floor, so he waited for D-Boy's assistance instead.

D-boy was getting tired of carrying Mr. Eff around, but it really was the most efficient way, and efficiency was best. Without a moment's hesitation, He stood up and wrapped his arms around him, then proceeded to lift him up and carry him off into the bathroom.

After they entered the bathroom, D-boy plopped Mr. Eff against the wall to keep him supported, and turned on the water of the bathtub. For such a mysophobe such as Johnny, he owned a pretty disgusting bathtub, seeing how much grime and dried blood there was covering the damn thing.

Oh well, it would have to do.

As the water filled up the tub, D-boy went through the cabinets above and below the sink, and was surprised to find the things he actually needed. Needles, cotton balls, disinfectant, bandages, and... uh... knives? Well, it was Johnny's house, he supposed. "Okay Mr. Eff, now to do this, you need to remove your shirt, and there's no way I'm undressing you. You can do that yourself, and you know it. For now, I need to go sterilize these needles. Yell for me when the bath is filled." He said as he gathered up the items and headed back out, determined to cleanse these things before even thinking of using them.

Eff was glad that D-Boy carried him. Being carried felt much better than being dragged, or at least it didn't bother his shoulder as much.

After he was set down, he leaned on the wall for support. He glanced at the bathtub when D-Boy turned on the water. Did Eff need a bath? Well, after being practically covered in his own blood, a bath certainly wouldn't hurt. He watched D-Boy gather things out of the bathroom cabinets. Cotton balls, needles, disinfectant, bandages... wait. Needles? Why did D-Boy need needles?

"...What are the needles-" Eff spoke up too late. He wasn't afraid of the needles, of course, but he was curious of what they were for. He would suspect it was for something bad, but D-Boy was trying to help him. Eff couldn't imagine what help needles would do. The bandages and disinfectant made sense, but needles? Oh well. He would find out in a few moments anyways.

For now, Eff had to figure out on how to remove his shirt. He really didn't want to move his hurt shoulder. Normally, he could just lift the bottom of his shirt up with both arms and pull the shirt off that way, but using his bad arm was out of the question! Maybe he could perform this task with just one arm? Didn't hurt to try. Eff lifted his shirt from the bottom with one arm, but stopped half way. He paused to think. The shirt wasn't going to come off any further... unless... He leaned forward a little, taking care not to fall. Since his arm was raised, he was able to reach the back of his shirt. Eff did so and pulled. Now his head was free of the shirt, and both arms soon followed.

He winced in pain when he removed the fabric from his hurt shoulder though. Some of it had stuck to his skin due to the sticky, thick blood that soaked it. At least he was successful at pulling off his own shirt though. Eff tossed it to the ground carelessly. He wondered if he should even bother washing this shirt or try to find a shirt that Nny had that would fit him instead. The poor piece of clothing was ripped due to the stab wound, and about half of it was reddened from the blood.

His attention was drawn away from his shirt when his ears decided to notice the sound of running water. Oh. Right. The bath tub was filling up. He looked to see that it had about enough water for a bath. Thankfully his attention caught the bathtub water before it overflowed. Eff cleared his throat before attempting to yell for D-Boy as loud as his hurt body would allow. "D-Boy! The bath is ready!" He called for his counterpart. Surely it didn't take that long to clean some needles.

Goddamn, when the Hell did Johnny even get these needles?! D-boy kept scrubbing them, but they still had that rusty appearance. It would have to do though, as he heard Mr. Eff calling him about the water. Well, unhygienic needles were better than no needles, right? At least they came with thread in the box they were in, and if D-boy was quick, that's all he would need.

D-boy rushed back to the bathroom and managed to turn off the water before it overflowed, then set down his tools and turned to Mr. Eff. "Well, all we need now is for you to get into the bath itself, but..." D-boy looked Mr. Eff over. There wasn't any reason for them to get his other clothes soaked, was there now? And he'd need to take off his boots, anyways. "Um... Mr. Eff, I believe we'll need to remove your other clothes, too."

"My other clothes...?" Eff blinked and looked at what he had left on. His boots and pants. Did they have to be removed as well? Well, for the bath, he supposed it made sense...

Not that Eff had anything against undressing, but it did feel rather odd to even just have his shirt off. His clothes were practically a part of his skin, and when he was a doughboy, they were in fact painted on! So, in a way, at one point his clothing was his skin! Sort of. With the exception of his ascot, but he didn't remove that regardless.

Eff really didn't feel like bending over to remove his boots, so he merely slid them off by pushing at the ankles with the opposite foot. With his pants, Eff just undid the button and zipper and then let gravity do most of the work, letting the fabric fall to his ankles. Thankfully underneath that he was wearing boxers, which kept a more private area covered.

Still, Eff wasn't sure how much clothing D-Boy wanted him to remove, and he was actually kind of oblivious that normal humans don't regularly strip clothing in front of another unless they were in a really intimate relationship.

Although Eff was putting as little effort as possible into removing his clothes, his sore, beaten body complained of the movement, and was tired of moving. Really, all Eff had on right now was his ascot and boxers. He was pretty sure that would be an acceptable amount of clothing to leave on for a bath but he still had to ask D-Boy, since he seemed to know more than him about this sort of thing, and he was trying to help him. "Is this enough?" He asked, just a little impatient. Eff wanted to get this bath over with, and get his wound fixed up as soon as possible. He really wanted to go back to the couch and lie down and watch TV.

D-boy blinked, a bit puzzled at the sight. He wasn't used to seeing so much skin, especially on his commonly-painted counterpart, that for a moment he almost forgot it was Mr. Eff.

"Yeah, that's enough. You can enter the bath now." He replied, stepping back to allow Mr. Eff some room. Hopefully he'd be able to at least get into the bath without failing too many times.

Eff glanced at the tub, then at D-Boy, and then back to the tub. He was a little worried about getting to the tub on his own. Maybe he could make it to the bathtub without ending up on the ground. It was just a short distance after all; barely even three steps away.

Eff was confident he would be able to get to the bathtub, but he wasn't so sure about actually getting into it. It wouldn't hurt to try, or at least it shouldn't. Eff finally pushed himself off the wall. He stumbled towards the bathtub, and was able to grab the edge of it with his good hand to lean on it and prevent a possible fall to the floor. Eff paused to catch his breath. Now he just needed to get _in_ the tub. His legs weren't hurt as badly as his torso was, but still the movement bothered his beaten body. The faster he got in the tub, the faster he could sit down and relax.

Eff gripped the edge of the tub tightly and swung his legs over the edge with all the strength he could manage to muster. In the middle of the action he lost his grip, and slipped. Thankfully he did land in the tub, causing a splash that made the water go over the edge and hit the floor, and he managed to land on his butt. While falling into a sitting position was a little uncomfortable, it wasn't even notable to the other pain he suddenly felt.

Unfortunately Eff had also hit his bad shoulder on the edge of the tub when he fell in. "God FUCKING damnit!" He cried out in pain, and winced and gripped his shoulder. The surge of pain made his eyes tear up again. Though earlier he said that pain was just another sign of life and being real, the feeling was so agonizing! All Eff wanted was for his stupid shoulder to heal so he wouldn't have to feel such a thing! It really ruined his mood, and even worse, it hindered his ability to do things on his own.

D-boy tried to step back as Mr. Eff fell into the bath, but still got splashed by the water. Great. Well, he was going to get pretty messy with this eventually, so it wasn't that bothersome. He held up a cotton ball and the disinfectant, and lightly dabbed it onto the small, fluffy item.

"This is most likely going to sting, so prepare yourself, or whatever." He stated, before dabbing the cotton ball onto Mr. Eff's wound. He held it there for a while, allowing the disinfectant to soak in and, well, disinfect the wound. He then lifted it back up, and tossed the cotton ball into the sink, so he could trash it later. He hoped that was enough, but now it was time to actually cleanse the wound.

He shifted his hand around in his pocket, and then took out a small wash-cloth he got from the kitchen, which was surprisingly blood-free. He swished the cloth within the water a bit, grabbed for the soap by the sink, then proceeded to rub the two together before finally going back to Mr. Eff's injury. Gently, he stroked the cloth onto wound back and forth, making sure not to tear any of the skin. He tried to be as soft as possible, to make sure he wouldn't hit anything to make Mr. Eff jerk his arm out or something that would slow the process down.

Eff frowned when he heard that the disinfectant was going to sting. He was already in so much pain! But his wound had to be cleaned. Maybe he wouldn't notice the stinging since he was already feeling so much pain.

Eff moved his hand away from his wound and instead gripped his bad arm, almost as if to keep it still as D-Boy disinfected it. As soon as the cotton ball touched his wound, a strong stinging sensation made itself known. Eff hissed in pain, wincing and gripping his arm hard. The stinging went deep into the wound, killing off anything that would cause it to become infected with rot. It was a horrible feeling, and it only proved that if this wound hadn't been disinfected, Eff's arm would probably have to be cut off.

Tears made their way down Eff's face, and he whined in pain as he tried his best to not cry or sob. The stinging went down when D-Boy finally removed the cotton ball. Eff tried to relax a little when D-Boy was getting the wash cloth.

He loosened his grip on his arm. Surely by now his nails had dug into his own skin, but Eff didn't really care enough to look. Eff tensed up when the wash cloth touched his wound. D-Boy was being gentle, but Eff had expected another awful stinging pain. While the soap did sting a little, it was nothing like the disinfectant. Realizing that it didn't hurt that badly Eff relaxed once more. The wash cloth actually felt quite nice on his wound since D-Boy was stroking it softly.

After D-boy was pretty sure he probably scrubbed Mr. Eff's arm to Hell, he turned the cloth around to dry the wound before finally moving onto the major part of the whole ordeal. He grabbed the medical kit and needles besides him, as he finally took his eyes off of the wound, only to notice something he never thought he'd live to see.

Mr. Eff, of all people, was... crying?

He was quiet, but there was no denying that there were tears streaming down his face. D-boy knew this must've hurt, but this was MR. EFF! The obnoxiously optimistic murderer! He was never upset- at least, never enough to cry. But this was a completely new situation to him... he was stabbed, and he never saw it coming. His arm was horrendously wounded, and he was left with someone who only knew how to stitch it, not repair it. Who knew how long it'd take for his pain to start healing, for the gaping wound to start creating some kind of scab. He wouldn't be able to move his arm for weeks, maybe not even his body. He was...

D-boy's own words echoed throughout his mind.

'You'll never fucking get it, Mr. Eff! I don't care how whiny or pathetic I sound to you, it is not. That. Simple. You... You can't just be all la-dee-da all fucking day for the rest of your fucking life, you know?!'

... He was depressed. _Mr. Eff_ was _depressed_.

That was only at the beginning of the week, and look where they were now. How could things have gone so out of control? D-boy felt an unrelenting pain overcome him, he wanted to apologize profusely to Mr. Eff, he... he actually wanted to make him feel better. He couldn't believe himself, but seeing Mr. Eff so distraught was rather haunting. Just a bit of cheering up couldn't hurt, right? Mr. Eff would need to be calm for the procedure, after all.

"Mr. Eff, I... um... I..." What could he say? "… I just... I wanted to say that I'm..." What, sorry? He has a fucking hole in his arm! "... I'm really sorry and..." He silenced himself. It was at this point that D-boy realized exactly why Johnny deemed him his 'Voice of depression'. He couldn't do it. He couldn't think up one comforting thing to say to Mr. Eff, he knew all would lead to something that would upset him.

No wonder they were enemies for so long, maybe it had nothing to do with them not listening, at all. Mr. Eff tried to make D-boy feel better, and he attacked him, the fact would always be there. Mr. Eff would never trust him, he'd never come back to the wall willingly ever again, and it was all D-boy's fault. He bit his lip tightly and held his own tears in, as he began sewing up the wound.

While Eff had relaxed a little, he still didn't know what, exactly, D-Boy was going to use those needles for. He stared at them suspiciously and thought for a moment. Well, D-Boy had already cleaned his wound. Really the only thing Eff would have done next is wrap it up.

He was about to have a realization of sorts before D-Boy spoke up and interrupted his easily distracted train of thought. D-Boy was apologizing again? Maybe his counterpart actually felt genuinely bad about ripping his shoulder apart. "And I already accepted your apology." Eff decided to finish his sentence, since it seemed like D-Boy wasn't going to say whatever he was getting at. Eff didn't really care much though. He just wanted to get his wound taken care of and get out of the tub so he could go rest for the remainder of the night.

Whether his wound hurt or not tomorrow, he had to get back to working on that cursed wall. The longer Eff didn't give the wall attention, the more he was going to feel anxious and stress about it. This wound better heal fast or—

Eff suddenly jumped and let out a yelp of pain when a needle entered his skin. One, his thoughts about the wall had made him forget about the needles, so this was a surprise. Two, it added pain to his already hurting shoulder. Eff wasn't really one who could handle pain well, as he rarely experienced it. In fact, this was probably the first time he was seriously injured.

"What the fuck, D-Boy!" He glared irritably at the other former doughboy and moved his shoulder away from him. Eff also instinctively covered it with his good hand to prevent anymore sewing. "Can't you just wrap up this fucking wound already? Why the hell are you sticking needles into me?!" Eff had gone through quite enough pain, and frankly, he was sick of it.

D-boy sighed, the backed-up tears leaving the horrid feeling of choking in his throat and Mr. Eff's flail causing him to prick his finger on the needle was rather distressing, but then again, wasn't everything for him? Although, he was rather relieved to see Mr. Eff perking up, even if it was out of anger... At least he accepted D-boy's shitty excuse for an apology.

"Well, if you want it to continue to rot, have bugs and other such things make their way into your body, and generally just bleed every time you move your arm, sure." D-boy replied, re-tying the thread around the needle. "But, if you'd rather have your arm actually _fixed_..." He grabbed Mr. Eff's other shoulder and grasped it tightly, sitting him back down into the tub. "Stay the fuck still."

Eff didn't like listening to D-Boy at all. He was used to arguing and fighting with D-Boy with just about everything. But this current situation was about his wound getting better, not seeing D-Boy's depressive side of things or something stupid like that.

"Oh, fine!" He huffed and frowned in disapproval. If moving his arms wouldn't cause him so much pain, he would have crossed them like a stubborn child as well.

Eff removed his hand from his wounded shoulder to allow access to it once again. "Just warn me this time, _before_ you start shoving needles into me." He leaned back against the tub to try and calm down again. Unconsciously he held his breath as he waited for D-Boy to start sewing up his wound again.

"Okay, okay. I figured that someone with your 'hobbies' would see it coming, is all." D-boy huffed and stared back down at Eff's still-gaping wound. "But, seeing as that's not the case, I'll let you know that it's going in now." He said, restarting the procedure he attempted before.

He was as careful with the sewing as a rookie at both medical services and the human body could be, trying his damnedest not to poke the insides of the injury rather than the skin, but failing a few times as predicted. As he reached the few final stitches, he was practically grinding his teeth to stumps, anxiously awaiting Eff to flail his arm and mess up everything. D-boy wasn't sure he had the patience to do this again for awhile, especially if the needle went flying into his eyeball or something to that extent.

But to his surprise as he tied the last of the string and closed the wound, it went better than expected. After a tight wrapping of bandages, D-boy stood up and placed his hands upon his hips in a proud stance. "There, all finished, for now. I figure I shouldn't need to warn you not to move it too much, but... don't move it too much. Pretty bad idea."

Eff managed to grab and hold his bad arm still before D-Boy started sewing his wound. It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would, and it felt absolutely weird to have string move underneath and through his skin.

He was doing his best not to move, but when D-Boy accidentally poked the needle into his injury it caused an unexpected spike in pain, and Eff couldn't help but to take in a sharp breath or jerk his shoulder away slightly. Though, thankfully he managed not to move enough to ruin his counterpart's sewing, and always moved his shoulder back to where it originally was so he could finish the job. Eff wanted to get it over with as soon as possible after all.

He sighed in relief when D-Boy was finally finished sewing his wound shut. "Yeah, okay. Can you help me out of the tub?" He asked. The idea of thanking D-Boy didn't cross his mind and neither did the thought of staying in the bath tub longer for a much needed cleaning. Eff was eager to get out of the tub, put some clothes back on, and lay down.

D-boy nodded and obliged, not confident in Mr. Eff getting out of the tub himself anyway. He gripped his arms around Mr. Eff's waist and hoisted him up and out of the bath, regardless of the younger counterpart's hefty amount of weight, managing to get him standing upright. Despite this, the fact still remained that he- along with his boxers- was soaking wet.

"Mr. Eff... You're able to dry yourself with one arm, right?" D-boy asked as he reached over and grabbed the towel. He hoped Mr. Eff would be able to undress and redress himself as well, but it would be a terrible idea for him to wear his own shirt for now. It was still fresh with splatters of blood, and was fairly soiled with stains and crumbs from various sources already. It was definitely not suitable for someone who needed to stay cleansed for more than a day.

Eff was tempted to shrug at D-Boy's question, but quickly decided against it since he didn't want to move his recently sewn shoulder. "I think I'll manage." He said as he took the towel from D-Boy. It might be a little difficult to dry yourself with one arm, but it wasn't impossible.

Eff leaned on the nearby wall as he began to move the towel over his wet skin quickly and sloppily. Honestly, he didn't really do a good job at drying himself, but it was hard to tell if it was because he was simply unable to do so with one arm, or if he was half-assing the job on purpose. Either way, whether he was dry enough or not, Eff wanted to put his clothes back on.

He paused for a moment, wondering something. Drying off with one arm was one thing, but would he be able to redress himself? Again, that task wouldn't be impossible, but difficult, and with one arm it would take a lot of effort and energy.

Stubbornly Eff decided that he should at least try to redress himself before asking for help. He let himself sit down on the floor, as keeping himself standing was taking too much effort for his liking, and grabbed his purple pants. They weren't nearly as stained or dirty as his shirt, but could also use a washing. Not that Eff cared. His clothes were his clothes and he was going to wear them, filthy or not. Getting his feet into his pants wasn't that hard, but pulling them up his legs, as predicted, took a lot of effort.

He grunted as he was finding it difficult to get his pants past his chubby thighs and wide hips. It wasn't that he was too fat for the pants; it was the fact that he was using only one arm and he was in a sitting position, which was making the simple task more difficult than it usually was.

D-boy stood outside the bathroom door rather impatiently, his arms crossed and his foot tapping as he waited. He knew he was going to be back in there any moment, it was very unlikely Mr. Eff could manage dressing completely on his own, and even then D-boy was still bothered about the shirt ordeal. The dirtied blood would infect the wound, and they'd have to repeat the entire past couple of hours. Then again, walking around shirtless wasn't a good idea, either. Mr. Eff would need something else.

D-boy made up his mind, he walked towards the bedroom and entered it, hoping Johnny didn't keep his clothes in anywhere like the basement. At the lack of a dresser in any sight, his first initiative was to look in the closet, and both success and failure fell upon him. There were shirts alright, but like Hell he'd even doom Mr. Eff to wear any of them, how did Johnny of all people manage it?

All of them were dusty, and most deeply stained with blood. There were rips and tears in every one of them, that simply attempting to place them on Mr. Eff's... generous form, would result in torn fabric everywhere. He sighed, there was no way any of this clothing would be good for someone in Mr. Eff's state right now, the only thing that could really work would be...

... well, D-boy's own shirt. It appeared to be the only _not_ filth-ridden material in this whole household. What the fuck was wrong with everybody, did nobody know that they owned a washing machine? Oh well, he would have to deal with being surrounded by slobs later, right now he had a stab-victim to attend to. He made his way back to the bathroom and removed his accessories, aside from his gloves, and took the shirt off. It was clear and tidy as D-boy did his best to keep his belongings in that shape; he found it quite a shame how it was going to be ruined instantly. Nevertheless, he cracked the door open, and tossed in the shirt to Mr. Eff.

Eff fought to get his pants on himself. When he finally managed to get them over his hips he was panting from the effort. Eff leaned back against the wall once again, to take a small break and catch his breath. Putting on clothes shouldn't be this exhausting, but it was for someone in Eff's current condition.

He was about to reach for his bloody shirt when D-Boy seemed to suddenly cracked open the bathroom door and toss his shirt at him. He picked up the shirt and looked at it with a confused expression. "D-Boy, why are you giving me your shirt?" Eff asked out of curiosity. "I have my own." He said.

Obviously he didn't even think about how disgustingly dirty his own shirt was, or how the old blood could infect his wound. Eff was very used to blood and other gore related things, so it really wouldn't bother him if he wore a bloody shirt.

D-boy nearly slapped his own face with his palm at Mr. Eff's reply. For someone who engaged themselves in such putrid acts, he sure oblivious to the outcomes, one of the many things that made D-boy fume from the boy's mere presence.

"Your shirt is covered in blood, Mr. Eff. Why do you think I'm giving mine to you? We don't need any more of the contaminated blood inside of you again." He replied. "Just... try not to dirty my shirt too much, will you? It's the only clean thing in this dump of a house."

What the hell was D-Boy talking about? Contaminated blood? It was just blood! But, whatever. Eff didn't have the energy to argue with D-Boy about his shirt. After all, D-Boy's shirt was very much like his own, just a different design, and having this shirt would be better than having no shirt at all.

"I'll do my best but... you _know_ it's going to get dirty." He stated the obvious. "You know what I do in the basement." Indeed, D-Boy did know that Eff had to tend to painting that cursed wall with blood. So giving him his clean, white shirt had doomed the poor fabric.

Still being his stubborn self, Eff threw the shirt over his head to pull it down into his body. He was quite determined to dress himself, as it might be the only thing he'd be able to do himself right now. Getting his head through was easy, but putting his arms through the sleeves required him to move his bad arm. Even if D-Boy had been helping him he would still have to move his bad shoulder. Eff was as careful and slow as possible when it came to this required movement. It hurt a little and tugged at his stitches slightly, but other than that the wound was undisturbed by the task.

At this point Eff was so low on energy he would be fine with passing out right there on the bathroom floor. While it took a lot of effort, he was glad he had managed to get clothing on himself once more. He felt less awkward with something covering his skin. Eff used the bit of energy he had left to grab his hat off of the floor and put it on its proper place on his head.

"Can you help me stand up?" He then asked D-Boy, positive that he didn't have the ability to stand on his own. Eff glanced at his counterpart as he asked the question, and quickly noticed how _different_ D-Boy looked without a shirt on. Just like how he was used to wearing clothing, Eff was used to seeing D-Boy clothed. He couldn't help but to stare a little, but due to his ability to hide his true feelings it was hard to determine whether he was out of fascination, curiosity, or admiration. Still, it didn't hide the fact that Eff was staring.

D-boy nodded to Mr. Eff's request, seeing as it was a given that he'd have to help.

He hoped that he'd listened to his statements before and knew he wasn't going to paint the wall, though. Even if D-boy was as disobedient as Mr. Eff (a sickening thought indeed), he barely had it in him to just look at the damn thing!

Still he walked over to him huddled up against the wall, not looking too bad in D-boy's own shirt. Unfortunately he was quickly reminded of the lack of it, when he noticed Mr. Eff gawking up at him. He grunted as his face warmed up to a light red, and darted his eyes away in attempt to ignore the other's bewildered gaze, clutching onto his waist once again to hoist him up, most likely having to carry him again.

Eff was unable to stay upright on his own, so when D-Boy picked him up he had to lean on him heavily for support. The closeness to his counterpart seemed a bit different as well, since D-Boy was without a shirt. The shirt's sleeves were shorter than his own shirt, so some of his arms were exposed. It did feel a little awkward, but because of this he was able to feel D-Boy's bare skin, and brought some light red color to his own face.

D-Boy's skin was warm to the touch and felt rather smooth and the warmth almost gave Eff the urge to cuddle into him. Eff's stare was broken when he glanced at D-Boy's face and noticed a red color on his counterpart's features. He wanted to grin at this discovery, but he was so tired he could only manage a smile. Perhaps he had been gazing at D-Boy's bare upper body too long.

"I want to watch TV." He then told D-Boy. Resting on the couch and watching TV sounded like a fantastic idea. Eff was quite aware he needed to rest before attempting to paint the wall again, and the TV would probably help him keep his mind off of it for a while. He remembered how comfortable he was before D-Boy dragged him into the bathroom to tend to his wound. It had been quite relaxing to rest his head on D-Boy's lap before. He wondered if he could recreate that relaxing, affectionate moment.

D-boy was almost tempted to push Mr. Eff away from the tension of the moment as his lips formed an attempted smirk, causing the warmth on his face to heat up. He hoped Mr. Eff's smile was simply from feeling better. D-boy shook his head and propped his good arm over his shoulder, trudging towards the living room and half-dragging his exhausted counterpart.

Upon reaching the living room, he placed the other boy down on the couch a bit harder than planned, wanting him off of himself already. It was much more uncomfortable being shirtless than D-boy expected, realizing being clothed felt much closer to his styrofoam body than now. Maybe it was just the lack of 'Fuck' written on his chest.

Whatever the reason, D-boy did not approve of it. But with the lack of any other shirt in the household- or at least one that didn't revolt him, all he could do was stand there and deal with it.

Eff didn't mind that D-Boy had placed him down on the couch roughly. The surface of the couch, though old, was somewhat soft and springy, so it didn't really bother him. Eff grabbed the remote so that he could turn on the TV, but quickly realized that D-Boy had not sat down beside him.

He reached up and gently grabbed and tugged at D-Boy's arm with his good hand. "Watch some TV with me." He suggested with a smile, though, it might was well have been a demand, since Eff was determined to have D-Boy on the couch with him again. Maybe then he could satisfy that slight urge to cuddle he had gotten earlier.

D-boy wasn't completely keen on Mr. Eff's request, but he didn't have much of a reason to not comply. He seated himself beside him, avoiding arm-distance for the time being. It wasn't like he was in the condition to be a threat of any sort, but still D-boy preferred for him to stay on his side, despite their closeness earlier today to be... rather calming. It made D-boy feel reassured, that closeness. Reassured that Mr. Eff hadn't given up on him completely, despite what he had done.

He realized that the choking feeling from the tears had finally left, and he released his heavily kept breaths. Today had been fucking insane, and maybe D-boy more so. In retrospect, nearly every idea he had this week was beyond idiotic. Perhaps the only one that was not would be to actually listen to Mr. Eff, as frustrated as he was to admit. Despite the conflict, it was worth it to hear of his counterpart's feelings, but whether they were sincere or not was yet to be decided...

D-boy glanced over at Mr. Eff. He really wished he could learn of his counterpart's thoughts; that he could see through the lies and into the truths, but that was impossible, and always would be. Everything in D-boy's sad little life would've been so much easier if he could just get straight answers. No vague remarks, no cryptic speeches, just the truth and nothing except it. But something such as truth was so shrouded, not even D-boy could properly decipher his own mind. Whether the younger boy liked him or not, how did _he_ feel towards Mr. Eff?

He wanted to hate him, but he didn't. He wanted to like him, but he didn't. Mr. Eff was a complex individual with mysterious words, words that D-boy couldn't understand, and that drove him mad. How could anyone understand the enigmatic? It only lead to his confusion and rage, let out with his own words, and now into actions, as the whole ordeal replayed within his brain during each second of gazing at Mr. Eff and his shadowy self. At least he looked snug in his shirt. D-boy was going to miss that shirt.

Eff was glad that D-Boy had sat down on the couch without any unnecessary arguing or fighting. It must be the fact that D-Boy had some kind of feelings for him that he complied, or he still felt guilty as fuck for stabbing him. There might not be a time where D-Boy won't feel guilty about stabbing Eff, as the wound would most certainly leave a scar as a constant reminder of the day D-Boy went batshit.

Satisfied that D-Boy had listened to him, Eff started to flip through the channels, turning to whatever channel seemed violent and entertaining for him. After he found a channel he liked, he gave his counterpart a glance. Surprisingly, he found D-Boy staring at him. Eff quickly looked back at the TV to try and distract himself from D-Boy's stare and avoid blushing like an idiot. Why would he blush anyways? It wasn't like he actually had feelings for his counterpart, right? Of course not! ...Or that's what he would like to think at least.

As much as he hated to admit it, there were times when he felt somewhat fond feelings towards D-Boy. There was that time in the theater, when D-Boy fell asleep on his shoulder. And then the time when they cuddled in bed, even though they soon fought after that moment, it was still a nice feeling to cuddle with his counterpart. Not only had he felt some fondness towards D-Boy, but also some sympathy.

He almost felt bad for lying about his feelings, but maybe he was lying to himself too, and he actually felt something. Only time would tell, and whether he was lying to D-Boy or himself, it seemed his views on his counterpart had changed slightly. Perhaps he didn't hate him as much as he thought he did. Perhaps it was a good thing that they started listening to each other. Perhaps after listening he discovered some things he actually liked about D-Boy.

After being lost in his thoughts for a while, Eff had the urge to lie down. But for the moment, he merely scooted closer to D-Boy so he could lean on him and rest there. D-Boy's warm skin still felt quite lovely after all.

D-boy trembled as he felt his counterpart lean upon him, his hopes of them staying on their own sides of the couch crushed. Although a slight urge emerged to return the action, he disregarded it for now, for even without his constant suspicions of Mr. Eff's intentions, he still wasn't in the mood for this. He folded his arms around himself and turned his attention towards the television.

The small electrical box depicted a few men duking it out with one another, guns, explosions, mayhem... "How can you watch this shit and not get bored?" D-boy asked, gesturing to the television. "There's barely even a plot, just a bunch of pointless chaos coming from both sides. The antagonist isn't even trying, why is he sending servants one by one at the protagonist instead of just ganging up on him when he was vulnerable? Like right there! He had a perfect chance _right there_ and he missed it!"

He huffed, glaring at the television, questioning how someone could be so stupid to make something like this. He didn't even watch movies, and he saw where this was going. The hero beat off the servants, the hero and the villain had a 'grand battle to the death', the hero defeated the villain and saves those they found worth saving, and the hero reunited with his female partner and... wait, what were doing?

D-boy blinked as the couple on-screen began to embrace and lock their lips together, diving their mouths relentlessly into one another's as the camera swirled around them. That was... what did Johnny call it? A kiss, right? Yeah. A kiss. One of the humans' many acts of affection and intimacy, to show that they were together. D-boy felt his stomach churn from watching it.

But in spite of his feelings towards the sappy displays, he couldn't help but allow his mind to wander, and in doing so making his face turn completely crimson with blush. Is this what Mr. Eff would want them to engage in? The thought had never even crossed his mind, but now that it had, D-boy couldn't even muster up an opinion about it. He sank deeper into his seat, darting his eyes downwards and continuing his usual goal of whenever he entered the living room: To ignore the television.

Unlike D-Boy, Eff was rather enjoying the mindless violence on the television. Watching some chaos was the closest thing to actually causing it for now, and it gave him a satisfied smile. His attention was suddenly broken from the TV when D-Boy asked something and started complaining about the program that was on. "I think you meant to ask 'how can you NOT get bored'. This is exciting! I mean, just look at that explosion!" Eff said. Clearly he didn't give a damn about a plot or how the antagonist tried to kill the protagonist. As long as it was as violent as possible, Eff didn't criticize it.

He turned his attention back to the TV, hoping D-Boy wouldn't complain anymore. As usual the hero of the movie won, but there was plenty of violence before the victory, so Eff didn't complain much.

He was starting to lose interest when suddenly the movie took on a romantic scene. Being reunited with his female companion, the hero embraced her and they... they started kissing. As many movies he had watched, this wasn't Eff's first time seeing the action performed. Usually it didn't bother him to see such a thing, but with D-Boy so close, and still notably shirtless, he got a weird feeling in his stomach and felt his face heat up a little. Maybe... he was nervous? Or uncomfortable? Was that the right word?

Or maybe it was because, for a moment he imagined what it would be like to do such a thing with D-Boy. How would it feel? Would it be pleasant? Would D-Boy even want to do something like that with him...? He was almost nervous enough to want to move away from D-Boy, but he didn't know how to do so without making it awkward or offensive.

Eff couldn't think of a word to describe what he was feeling. He quickly glanced at D-Boy out of curiosity. It appeared his counterpart was blushing too, and that only caused Eff's face to redden even more. Perhaps they were feeling something similar at the moment. Maybe D-Boy was thinking the same thing. Eff quickly looked off to the side, avoiding looking at the television, as well as D-Boy. He then caught sight of the TV remote. Oh, perfect! Eff didn't hesitate to grab it and quickly change the channel.

The uneasiness of the situation was dimmed slightly as the channel changed, but as luck would have it, it set the duo right onto a romance flick. D-boy cringed in disgust as the newest couple on screen appeared to be rather lecherous, their kiss involving much use of the tongues, and their hands massaging their bodies in slow, but strong motions. They were both emitting peculiar groans, and nearly tearing at their clothing, trying to get it off. He could swear the man was attempting to grasp the woman's chest too, but...

"Is this... what you commonly watch on T.V, Mr. Eff?" D-boy asked, cocking an eyebrow and turning towards him. He would've almost suspected Mr. Eff switched the channel to it on purpose, seeing as he knew about the television much better, but that thought was quickly debunked as he noticed Mr. Eff's face was as red as his own.

Eff would have changed the channel once more if he wasn't stunned and surprised at what the next channel had to offer. It was a little more _intense_ than what he was used to seeing, and he silently cursed at himself for almost immediately thinking of himself and D-Boy doing something similar. Surely Eff's face was redder than it had ever been by now.

His thoughts were broken when he heard D-Boy ask another question. "N-no!" He immediately replied, stuttering a little. He had his voice raised slightly as he was quite offended that D-Boy would assume such a thing. Honestly, Eff liked watching violent stuff. He had only started watching romance things and that sort of nonsense to get ideas for... lying to D-Boy... and making it seem convincing. But watching that sort of thing around D-Boy, it now seemed like he couldn't handle doing so without getting flustered.

He wondered why, and denied the possibility that he might actually have feelings for his counterpart or want to try similar things with him, and sincerely too. Quickly after responding to D-Boy he changed the channel once again, and kept changing it until he found something that would have a small chance of showing a romantic scene.

D-boy was rather surprised to hear Mr. Eff's quick reply, hearing a stutter in his voice felt almost unnatural. Perhaps the idea embarrassed him? Or, perhaps... his thoughts were running along the same lines as D-boy's were? He wouldn't put it past him, considering the things they just witnessed onscreen. D-boy internally thanked Mr. Eff for having changed the channels so quickly, but the mood was set, and it was an awkward mood indeed. Being shirtless at a time like this was really not helping.

Still, it was better than Mr. Eff having to be the one who was without a shirt. Who knew what had been on this couch before? There were stains deeply embedded into the cushioning, so a risk of it entering Mr. Eff's injury was not one to take. "How is your wound doing, by the way? I'm obviously no surgeon, but I imagine it's enough. I mean, you don't seem to be screaming in agony or anything." D-boy asked, looking over at Mr. Eff's shoulder. It was covered by the shirt, but it seemed to be doing alright. There wasn't any blood leaking through. Although whether his question was out of legitimate concern or to change the subject was in debate.

Eff tried to focus on the TV to ignore the awkward mood that had been created. Whatever was on was neither violent nor romantic, but after what happened Eff didn't seem to care at the moment.

D-Boy's question seemed sudden, but Eff was thankful it wasn't a question that would cause him to become even more nervous than he already was. Maybe D-Boy was trying to change the subject. His counterpart was more considerate than Eff thought he was.

Eff glanced at his shoulder, and moved it ever so slightly as if to test how much it was hurting. He frowned and winced at the sharp pain. Apparently, like D-Boy had said, moving his shoulder wasn't a good idea. It was still quite sore from the stitching, but it was nowhere near as painful as it was before D-Boy cleaned it.

"I guess it's okay. It still hurts though." Eff was willing to admit that. "Uh... thanks for taking care of it..." He hesitantly decided to thank his counterpart. Maybe D-Boy didn't really deserve thanks since he was the one who caused the wound in the first place, but right now Eff was really glad that his shoulder didn't hurt to the point where he wanted to saw off his arm anymore.

"No problem. It was the least I could do." D-boy replied, feeling pleased to hear such a thing from Mr. Eff. It wasn't like a 'thank you' was easily earned from either of them. He tipped his head to get a better look at the wound. The bandage appeared to be keeping everything secure, but the skin around it appeared purple and red, although he insisted to himself that was an occurrence from all injuries. The bandage would stop blood-flow, but it certainly wouldn't stop pain.

"Would you like me to go out and get some painkillers?" He asked, obviously not thinking it out very thoroughly. They didn't have any painkillers in the household (if they did, D-boy would've used them up by now), so the only option was to go out and buy them, and D-boy spent all their money at the movie theater. He couldn't afford even a candy bar at this point, much less pills. Still, in Mr. Eff's condition, painkillers was a must.

Eff only gave the idea of painkillers a moment's thought. "Yes, actually." He replied. Painkillers were a great idea! Those things would get rid of, or at least dull, the ever persistent pain in his shoulder. Plus, it would get D-Boy out of the house for a bit, and they can forget all about that awkward moment they just had. And if that wasn't enough to agree to his counterpart leaving to get pills, if D-Boy left Eff would have the whole couch to himself! He'd be able to lie down and stretch out on the cushions without having D-Boy in the way, and he really would like to lie down right now.

Like D-Boy, Eff didn't even think about how they needed money for such a thing. He then moved off of D-Boy, so his counterpart could get up off the couch and go get the much wanted, and needed, medication. Being so close to D-Boy was starting to get a little uncomfortable anyways. Aside from the awkwardness and the blushing, Eff actually felt a little too warm for his liking. So being near D-Boy and resting against his warm, bare skin wasn't really helping that.

D-boy stood up, the cold feeling of the current temperature within the house alerting him of how hot Mr. Eff was, having heated up his entire shoulder. He made a mental note that somehow, he'd have to afford a cold-pack, too. He quickly returned to the bedroom and busted open the closet again, searching around for a shirt with the least dust and splatters. Johnny's clothes were gross, yes, but there was no way in Hell he was walking around others shirtless.

He managed to find the least disease-ridden one and dusted it off, hesitantly putting it on afterwards. It was a tight fit, considering D-boy and Johnny's tremendous height and weight differences, but, well... it was a shirt, at least. Immediately after getting the dreaded piece of clothing on, he lurked around the pants portion of Johnny's clothing pile (why didn't he ever just get a dresser?). He was determined to find one scrap of money, perhaps even some cents to fool the store clerk before bursting out of there, but his already slim hopes were for naught.

He cursed at himself internally for asking the question so impulsively, but it was true, Mr. Eff would need painkillers as much as he needed those stitches. D-boy yearned he wouldn't bitch about medicine as much as that. Without one coin in pocket, and a shirt with sleeves that were most likely cutting off his circulation, D-boy reluctantly left the grotesque, worn-out shack to the unknown world of the outdoors.

After D-Boy got off the couch Eff didn't hesitate to take this opportunity and lie down. He settled into the cushions, lying down on his back. Immediately he felt some relief and sighed in content. Damn did it feel good to finally lie down again. The muscles that were used to keep him upright relaxed and stopped complaining for the moment.

He turned onto his good shoulder to face the TV and stare at it. Eff then grabbed the remote again to see if there was anything less boring to watch. As he was flipping through the channels he heard D-Boy leave through the front door. A part of him wanted to go out with him, mostly because he would like to get out of the house, but there was another reason.

D-Boy had never been outside the house by himself. He only left the house when they went to the movie theaters. Other than that, as far as Eff knew, D-Boy had stayed home all day and sulked. D-Boy can handle himself outside alone... right? He was D-Boy after all. He should be able to take care of himself.

Eff's thoughts stopped when he finally found something extra violent on the TV. He stopped changing the channels to watch it, but when the commercials rolled around he felt his eyelids get heavy. After a few long blinks he found it hard to keep opening his eyes. Finally he just closed them, figuring he could reopen them when the program started up again. Little did he know, he wasn't going to open his eyes again for a while. In fact, he fell asleep a few minutes after closing his eyes.


	6. I Feel Sick

D-boy only took a mere six steps outside before coming to a halt.

The world looked so different from that one night they left. So _big_. He didn't have any time to take in the 'scenery', as he was immediately driven around by his manic companion, and being pitch black outside as it was didn't help in the least. He didn't know where to go or how to get there; it didn't take a second thought to know that this idea was an absolute fucking disaster. Still, he told Mr. Eff he'd get painkillers, and that was something that boy really, really needed. D-boy was one to stick by his word, to follow through with his missions, so with one deep breath and a shifting of his hat; he marched off into the foreign lands of the outdoors.

It wasn't long until D-boy realized that he was utterly and hopelessly lost. Yes, he made it to the 'city' as it was called, but he had no idea what any of this shit was. All of these buildings were puzzling to him; he didn't know what a 'mall' or a 'seven slash eleven' were. Just walking around was hard enough, nearly every human he passed gave him some sort of dirty look, from glares to frightening glances their sight seemed unavoidable. Was he walking funny or something? Whatever it was, it was his business and his alone, and their insatiable need for staring was not welcome. He felt paranoid with all these others around him, watching him, walking by him, able to do whatever they'd like, whenever they'd like. It was almost unnerving having them walking around without some horrid contraption strapped to them. Their freedom was terrifying.

The life of the only people he had around being homicidal maniacs or their victims had taken their toll on D-boy. Anyone who wasn't being killed, was going to kill. That's just how it seemed to work, and by God did it make D-boy feel uncomfortable. All he wanted was to find Mr. Eff some painkillers, that's all. He didn't need this. The crippling desire to find the closest basement to lock himself inside, curl up and cry was rising steadily with each passing moment...

While there were many others giving D-boy rude passing glances, there was someone in the crowd that stood out; mostly because of her odd hair color. It was purple and in a couple tight pony tails. She also had a bit of makeup on; just some dark eyeliner and lipstick, and she was around the same height as a certain maniac. Also unlike the other people she didn't even give D-boy a glance as she walked by. She hardly even noticed him. Rather she kept a strict stare in front of her, as she walked briskly. She walked like she had something important to do.

When she had walked past D-boy she rubbed one of her wrists as if she was trying to soothe it. Whether she worked promptly or procrastinated deadlines were always a pain; literally and metaphorically. She also muttered something under her breath as she walked past. "Yeah, great time to go out to the pharmacy, Devi..." It was a sarcastic remark directed towards herself. Not long after she passed D-boy, she made a sharp turn into a drug store.

As D-boy paced through the street, out of all the diverse sets of humans, he happened to notice one. One he didn't even catch the attention of. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something about her seemed... familiar. Disturbingly familiar. Surely she just stood out among these other beings, maybe it was her hair color? Whatever it was he dismissed it for now, as he watched her walk into the destination he was set on.

The drug store. There, in big bright red letters. He gave out a distasteful sigh in his stupidity, and walked inside.

The place was pretty small, but the amount of stock was tremendous, at least to him. There were pills and medicines upon every shelf, and he wasn't sure where to start. Still, he couldn't stand around being bewildered, so through the 'corridors' of medication he went.

Finally he came upon a couple containers of Aleve. It wasn't any Morphine, but looking at the back and reading about it made it seem good enough, so grabbing a few was a good idea. It was the best pain killer he could find at the time, at least. But as he made his way towards the counter to purchase the items, what he overheard made him think twice. Ah... Yes. The prices.

He gulped as he heard each one. He had no money, and these went up to ten... Twenty... Thirty dollars! Thirty-eight dollars for some pills?! No wonder Johnny complained about robbers so often! But as D-boy's eyes shifted from the Aleve to the counter, suddenly the crime of theft didn't seem that bad on the record... He had to get these back to Mr. Eff somehow. Surely no one would notice a few tablets missing.

He turned himself around and began to slowly creep back towards the doorway, trying desperately not to look as suspicious as he was. He was getting a few glances, but he assured himself that was still about his appearance. As he neared the entrance, he almost felt a slight relief as he shifted the Aleve down to place it into his pocket.

Until he felt a hand clutch tightly around his wrist, that is.

"Hey, now..." D-boy felt a jolt of fear rocket up his spine, as a human's voice was merely inches from his face. "You weren't planning on stealing that, were you?" Oh, a sarcastic voice, too. D-boy whirled around, containers still in hand, to come face-to-face with a human who was awfully burly for a fucking _store clerk_. "Oh- No, no, no. Of course not! I simply... er..." He laughed sheepishly as the man glared him down, and the situation at hand began gaining a lot of very unnecessary attention. Good going on that 'plan' there, Psycho-Doughboy. Good. Fucking. Going.

Devi had a vague idea of where the pills were, since she had visited this drug store a few times before. She looked through the shelves, her hand still on her aching wrist, and glanced around at the bottles for the pain relievers she wanted. An irritated sigh escaped her lips when she saw that they weren't on the shelf they were usually on. The store must have rearranged the pills a little sometime after her last visit.

She looked up from the shelf and caught a glimpse of something frighteningly familiar. Her heart skipped a beat, and she managed to keep her surprised gasp quiet. What had caught her eye was not the man himself, but his shirt.

Upon further inspection, it would appear that the man in the shirt was not the one that had haunted her thoughts and nightmares for some time. This was a relief; a huge relief. But while this man was not the horrible maniac she had encountered before, there was an odd, faint feeling of recognition. The feeling left Devi a bit baffled, as she could not recall having seen or met this man before.

Curiously she stared and watched him go through the shelves of pills as she tried to remember, what, exactly, made this man so familiar. He looked quite odd, but at this time of night, it wasn't a complete surprise to see some strange people out and about. His hat resembled that of a chef's but it had skull designs on it. It also looked like his face was painted or tattooed. There were black tear drop marks under his eyes, as well as what appeared to be black lipstick on his lips. Why, he almost resembled a clown of sorts, but Devi was pretty sure if she had encountered a man that looked this peculiar, she would have remembered him.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she had noticed that the man was starting to leave. She didn't recall the man going to the cash register, so... was he stealing from the store? He wouldn't be the first one that tried. With the prices of medicine these days, Devi was surprised she could even afford pain killers for herself. But unfortunately for this man, the store clerk had a sharp eye. He was caught red-handed. If it wasn't for the fact that Devi felt a vague familiarity towards this man, she wouldn't have decided to help him. Besides, he seemed rather helpless in his situation.

"Excuse me, sir!" Devi called over as she made her way towards the two. She put on a smile to show she didn't mean any harm to the store clerk or the other man. "That's my friend, you have there. Could you let him go?" Of course, this man wasn't her friend, but the lie was merely to get the clerk off of him. "I forgot to tell him I went to the bathroom. He was probably just looking for me." Another quickly lie off the top of her head came from her lips. While she kept her smile on she immediately cursed at herself silently in her head for saying such a stupid excuse, and for involving herself in the situation in the first place.

D-boy was taken by surprise as the recognizable human approached him and the store clerk, and proceeded to claim that she was _friends_ with D-boy. He was sure he recognized her somehow, especially with that voice, but he certainly wasn't _friends_ with her! Was she mad? Did he look like someone she knew? What in the world was she- "Oh, was he, now?" The store clerk cocked an eyebrow at her, and proceeded to release his grip around D-boy's wrist.

... Oh. She was lying.

D-boy became rather suspicious of her now, why in the world would she lie for him? She didn't know him, now did she? Either way, it didn't stop D-boy from playing along without hesitation. "Yes, indeedy! I was looking around for my dear friend..." He bit his lip and gave her a small notion for her name to help himself continue. Dear merciful Master did he hope this store clerk's brain wasn't as big as his brawn.

Devi nodded at the clerk and was thankful that he went off to return to his work. Though she was sure he was going to keep a close eye on her and this other man until they left the store, and that meant she had to keep up this friend act and staying with the strange man for a bit. God damnit, that wasn't something she really wanted to do, but if worse comes to worse, she did have mace in her pockets.

Devi glanced at what kind of medicine this man was trying to steal, mostly out of curiosity. To her surprise, they were pain killers. The good kind, even. Just what she needed. This was oddly lucky, and somewhat in her favor. Nice things didn't happen to her often, which made her a little suspicious, but she decided to go with this situation and take what she can get.

"Wow, thanks for finding the pain killers!" She smiled at the man, even though it was nearly painful to be so friendly towards such an unusual stranger. "Let's hurry up and pay for these." She gestured him to follow as she turned to go toward the line to pay for the pills.

Oh, how she desperately wanted to hurry and go back home where she felt safe. Despite her friendly act on the outside, she was regretting every little thing silently in her mind. 'Good going, Devi! Way to get yourself stuck with a freaky clown chef guy!' Her thoughts sarcastically tormented her as they neared the counter to pay. She hoped that some sort of paranormal karma from helping this man would make him not a homicidal maniac, and that she would be able to leave him without conflict, and some Aleve.

D-boy's wariness of the woman grew as the charade carried on, what could she possibly gain from helping him? Certainly something must've been up, but hey, if she was willing to help him get the painkillers for Mr. Eff, then he had no problem. Surely if she pulled something, he could just run off with the tablets, right? What could she do about it, call the cops on him?

She didn't appear very dangerous, but then again, neither did that frail, muscleless prick of a maniac either. He shuddered in disgust from the memory of him and what he did; those idiots probably never saw it coming when they decided to interact with the man. Could she possibly be such a threat, as well? He didn't want to assume, but considering nearly everyone he knew was a blood-thirsty, conniving wretch with no regard for the lives they stole, he couldn't help but keep his guard up around her.

Nevertheless, he continued along behind her, hoping to get this over with quickly.

It wasn't long before it was their turn to pay.

Devi took the two bottles of pills from D-boy and put them on the counter so the cashier could ring them up. She paid the man with some money from the wallet she pulled out from her pockets when the cashier was scanning the pills' barcodes. Thankfully, she had brought enough to pay for both.

After the pills were bought, they were put in a bag, and the cashier handed the bag to Devi. She headed for the store's exit, and kept glancing behind her to see if the man was still following behind her. He was. That made her a little nervous, and she wondered what she could do to make him go on his way without causing a scene.

She figured if he had been trying to steal these pills, that he needed them desperately. It was actually kind of sad, really. Despite how odd he looked, his current situation was somewhat relatable and understandable. And perhaps if she gave him some of the pills, he wouldn't follow her home or kill her or anything like that.

When they made it out the store she turned to face him. Devi's fake smiling expression faded into a somewhat serious one. It was a relief to be able to stop pretending that she was this guy's friend. "Here." She reached into the bag and handed one of the containers of Aleve to D-Boy. The other one she was going to keep for herself, since she did pay for them after all. "Be more careful next time." She told him. Honestly, she should have been giving this advice to herself. Devi knew she shouldn't throw herself in such situations, like saving clowns from store clerks. It was quite risky.

"By the way, my name's Devi." She usually didn't give her name out to strangers, but it almost seemed like she had to, after helping him out in the store.

D-boy was relieved to find that her wager on their unspoken deal was simply the other container, but he told himself he'd have to hide this one from Mr. Eff so he didn't guzzle them down. Johnny had ranted on about painkillers before, and why he avoided them. Aleve was known to be incredibly dangerous to those with a bad heart, and his counterpart's body type was certainly a hint. He tucked the tablets into his pocket like he originally intended, and his stomach knotted as he just realized how utterly pitiful that whole scenario was. He cursed at himself again, appalled at the execution of his so-called plan and how quickly it failed. Hopefully he wouldn't be going out again anytime soon. He was about to thank the woman, until she stated her name.

His mouth nearly dropped open. Devi, the girl that got away. No wonder she felt so terrifically familiar, he remembered that fateful night well.

He had gotten his hopes up so high as the blood pooled out from that man's face, and although he didn't die that night, D-boy practically giggled from the memory! "Thank you, _Devi_." He said, his frown nearly leaving his face. He almost wanted to give a smile to her, or really anyone who'd have it in them to not only stand up to but _beat up_ Johnny C., but at the same time it rather added to his wariness of her, being capable of that.

He gave her a nod and backed off, before getting far enough to simply spin around and run for it. Okay, so, maybe he felt a bit more than wariness... He thanked Master that he was able to remember his way back home, and exhaled deeply as he finally got up to the door and grasped onto the doorknob of the decrepit old shack.

He barged in without hesitation and nearly slammed the door behind him as he slumped off to the living room. Suddenly the tiredness of walking around all day- or, well, night- had finally set in, and he had never felt like collapsing into that revolting, blood-splattered bed as much as he did now.

The man's response to her name was unusual, to make an understatement. Devi lifted a brow at the man, rather confused as to why he looked so surprised. Unless, he had heard of her before, there was no real reason to give that kind of look, and Devi wasn't exactly famous.

Before she could speak again, the man thanked her and backed off. He then turned around and ran away. Devi told herself that whatever he needed the pills for, it was important, and the man was simply in a rush, but that still didn't help her absolute bewilderedness. She didn't even get his name. It was probably for the best. Devi wasn't sure if she ever wanted to run into that person again. At least this encounter was over and she could go back to her apartment to have a quiet and now painless night.

Eff was still where he was when D-Boy left; on the couch in the living room. The only difference was the fact that Eff was awake when his counterpart had left, and now he seemed to be asleep.

It appeared that he had fallen asleep while watching TV sometime after D-Boy had left. Though he was sleeping, he didn't really look at all peaceful. Even unconscious the pain from his shoulder wound affected him. If he wasn't injured he would look calmer, but the agony from his injury caused him to look pitifully pained in his sleep. Not to mention his face was red from his body being at a rather high temperature, and he was also sweating profusely because of it. He let out a quiet whimper every now in then, which was also caused by the pain in his shoulder, but thankfully he hadn't shifted in his sleep that much and wasn't putting any unnecessary pressure on it.

As D-boy trudged along into the living room, he quickly noticed his younger counterpart asleep on the couch. As much as one would think someone who stayed up as much as him would be within the deep stages of sleep by now, the wound appeared to be keeping him far from it. His skin was puffed to a noticeable red, and his face was giving off a clear expression of pain. As much as Mr. Eff probably needed a rest, it didn't seem a peaceful one would be anytime soon. D-boy approached the agonized boy and placed his hand upon his arm, avoiding the wound as much as he could, and gave him a light shake to wake him.

Almost immediately after D-boy shook him, Eff woke up suddenly with a surprised gasp. Either he had been having a bad dream, or his counterpart had managed to scare him with that small shake, or maybe his body had overreacted to the sudden touch due to it being injured.

Either way, Eff instinctively batted D-boy's hand away and then sat up. He soon noticed the cold air that was hitting his apparently damp back. The sweat on Eff's body was making the D-boy's shirt stick to his skin. Even though he wasn't fully awake, he felt his body complain with pain, as well as exhaustion. Eff's body begged him to lie back down, and his eyelids begged to close, but Eff refused to do either. He didn't like being tired or in pain, and he would bare both things as long as he could before giving into his body's demands.

It seemed to take Eff a moment to wake up enough to realize that D-boy was next to him, and he had been the one who woke him up. "What do you want...?" He groaned tiredly, practically sounding annoyed at the other. Clearly he hadn't woken up enough to remember that his counterpart had left to get him some pain killers.

Though D-boy had succeeded in waking his counterpart, it didn't appear to have done much; Mr. Eff was still groggy and his body was clearly trying to drag him back into slumber. In an attempt to refrain him from said slumber, D-boy lifted his hand in front of the dazed boy's face, and snapped his fingers loudly.

"Hey, hey. Wake up." He said, placing his other hand into his pocket and lifting up the container of meds. "I got the painkillers. They're not that potent, but... they'll do for now, okay?" 'For now', implying that he'd have it in him to go get something else? He'd rather rummage through that filth-infested basement to see if Johnny had any left over. But, on the other hand, that wasn't that bad of an idea... but for the time being, he had to tend to Mr. Eff again.

The snapping of D-boy's fingers seemed to surprise Eff, which caused him to suddenly straighten his spine and take in another sharp breath. He blinked a few times. The drowsiness was starting to lose its grip on him. This time his response to D-boy was only slightly delayed.

"I _am_ awake, D-boy-" He paused when he saw the painkillers. Eff then remembered that D-boy had gone out to get them for him, and they were most certainly what he needed if he was going to ignore the annoying aches coming from his wounded shoulder.

"Well, what took you so long?" Actually Eff had no idea how long D-boy had been gone since he had been asleep, but he would have liked to have these pills anytime sooner than they had arrived. With some tiredness still in him, he seemed to forget his manners, if he had any, and clumsily grabbed for the container of medicine without a 'thank you'. In the back of his mind, he knew that taking too much medication could be harmful, but the pain in his shoulder was rather intense, and it was very tempting to just take a vast amount of pills so he wouldn't have to deal with the irritating agony.

D-boy was about to retort to Mr. Eff's sass, until the tablets were quickly swept out of his hand. He quickly snatched them back before Mr. Eff could devour them in one sitting (not that D-boy believed he could get past the child lock). "Idiot! You shouldn't just down these substances without the precautions!" D-boy snapped, quickly arising to his usual posture. "You have a fucking dent in your shoulder, the last thing we need is perforating inside of your organs." He took a deep breath, reminding himself that this wasn't Mr. Eff's doing, but his own. He flipped out like that maniac he despised, and he caused this little 'event'.

Still, it didn't excuse Mr. Eff's naivety towards the items he didn't know about, so continuing to hold onto the tablets, D-boy walked over to the kitchen to do this thing properly. He skimmed through the cupboards, searching for the least grime-covered glass he could find, and filled it with some warm water. He thoroughly read the back of the container a couple of times again to make sure this didn't go terribly, before carrying both objects back to his counterpart.

He placed the glass onto the coffee table, and unscrewed the top of the Aleve, before taking one tablet out of the container and handing it to Mr. Eff. "Swallow this- do _not_ chew, and drink all of that water immediately." D-boy ordered, crossing his arms as he waited for the younger one to proceed.

Fortunately, his tiredness still delayed his reactions, but when Eff realized that the pills were snatched right back out of his hand he didn't hesitate to give D-boy a glare.

"Hey!" He was going to snatched them back, until D-boy started to scold him. The last thing he needed to do was get into another physical fight with his counterpart, despite how he wanted to get back at him for taking the pills away. His body was in no condition for that, after all. He didn't even feel like going into a full blown argument so he resorted to glaring at D-boy and putting on a pout. "Well, you're the one who put the dent in my shoulder..." He muttered, hopefully too low for D-boy's ears to pick up.

Eff watched his older counterpart go into the kitchen. It took him a moment to come to the conclusion that D-boy was getting him water to take the pills with. That was a good thing, since Eff didn't really feel like moving off this couch. He did wish D-boy would hurry up though.

As he waited, Eff shifted himself on the couch, so that his back was pressing against the couch's back cushions. He felt a little more at ease, even though he wasn't laying down, it still put less stress on his body.

When D-boy finally came back with the water, Eff's glare had already faded. Though it soon returned when he was handed _one_ pill. He looked at the pill in disapproval and then looked at his counterpart with angry confusion. "Shouldn't I at least get TWO pills?" He questioned. "I'm in _pain_ D-boy! What's _one_ pill going to do?" If Eff couldn't take a ton of pills like he wanted, then the least he could do was ask D-boy for another pill.

D-boy had tried to keep his temper down with what he had done to his counterpart, he was trying to get along with him after what he had expressed and admitted to him, but as expected of Mr. Eff, he was wearing D-boy's already-low patience thin. "Fine then! Take all the tablets, see if I care when you become addicted, and holes start melting into your body parts and you start to bleed out of your Goddamn ass! This is such a trivial thing for you to oppose against, even though I clearly know more about it- which is why I went with these things, but you won't listen. Of course you won't! Why do I even _try_?"

Even within the moment D-boy knew he was overreacting as much as Mr. Eff, but one could blame it on today not being a very good day, or this week not being a very good week. But although he was fuming, he willed away the desire to storm off and leave Mr. Eff to do exactly as he yelled at him to do, knowing the consequences. As nice as it would be knowing the actions would lead to death, the slow toiling agony of having to deal with more of his counterpart's low tolerance of pain wasn't something he wanted to risk at the moment. So, for the time being, he simply gripped his sleeves in vexation and gave a dark scowl.

Eff frowned as D-boy scolded him once again. Maybe he did need a scolding. At the very least, it did make his tired self realize how little he actually knew about the medication, and it made him remember that D-boy is only trying to help him. D-boy could easily make fun of him, or make his pain worse, or even kill him. But no. Even though his counterpart was the cause of his physical pain, he was trying to make things right.

Eff still didn't feel like having a screaming match with D-boy, so instead he grabbed the glass of water off of the table. He glanced at the single pill again. It was just one lousy pill, but maybe it would take the edge off of this pain. If it reduced the pain at all Eff might be doing backflips later. Really, being injured made him feel so helpless and lazy. He wanted to go downstairs and paint the wall, or go out and kill someone or find more 'paint', but all this pain was doing a damn good job of preventing all of these.

"S... sorry..." Eff sighed a half-hearted apology before putting the medicine in his mouth. He then proceeded to drink the pill down with the glass of water, and finished off the water like D-boy had instructed earlier.

D-boy felt a sliver of pride as Mr. Eff simply picked up the glass and the single pill, perhaps his chiding was taken into account after all. He figured the two were going to stay silent after his outburst, until D-boy heard a murmured apology from the younger one, which took him by surprise. "Oh, uh... it's fine, I guess." He glanced away, simmering down as he released the grip on his arms slightly. "Just listen to me sometimes, okay? I'm not an imbecile, I know what I'm talking about."

At least, as much as the back of the container and Johnny had told him, but he knew enough that Aleve- like most drugs, was not one to be taken lightly. It was dangerous for them to not have had it prescribed to them, with only the instructions on the back to lead, but like Hell something like Advil would help the fucking gouge in Mr. Eff's shoulder.

Eff knew very well D-boy wasn't an imbecile, despite how much he liked calling him one. It was just usually D-boy was ranting on about depression or some stupid shit like that, so usually Eff ignored or forgot what he said almost immediately, but this was different. D-boy was trying to help him, and that was worth at least some of Eff's attention.

He simply gave his counterpart a nod to show that he had heard him, and then put the now empty glass back onto the table and leaned back on the couch again. Eff glanced at his shoulder, wondering how soon the medication would take effect and reduce some of this nagging pain. He wanted to get up and do some things on his own, despite how nice it was to have D-boy go around and do things for him. It just wasn't like Eff to keep still for so long. He was already bored with this 'being injured ordeal'. What was even the point of being real if he couldn't get up and live?

But even if the Aleve managed to take away enough pain from his shoulder to inspire Eff to get up, the tired look on his face gave away a clue that he needed more rest. If he got up to do something, there was a good chance he would end up dozing off again. Eff had only been unconscious for maybe an hour or two while D-boy was out, and that wasn't nearly enough sleep for his exhausted body.

As tired as D-boy was himself, it didn't take a genius to guess how exhausted Mr. Eff was, he finally awoke and he was still so close to nodding off again. So with slight hesitation D-boy decided to make a 'sacrifice' of sorts, for his counterpart's well-being. "If you're going to fall asleep any moment now, would you at least like to take it to the bed room?" He asked, motioning towards the hallway. The boy rarely slept, especially on a normal bed, so at a time like this it would do his body some good. At the same time, though, D-boy really didn't want to help drag him to it again, but if there wasn't any other choice he'd have to make do. Despite Mr. Eff's drowsiness, though, D-boy remembered he snatched those tablets up hastily. To prevent that irritating moment again, he grabbed the container himself and twisted the top back on without delay, making sure the lock was clicked and tightened.

Eff had closed his eyes without noticing, only to reopen them suddenly when he heard D-boy speak again. It seemed like for whatever reason, D-boy thought Eff was going to fall asleep soon. As true as this was, Eff didn't want to believe it.

"What? I'm not tired!" Eff responded, and sat up straighter as if it would prove he wasn't sleepy. He wasn't willing to admit any drowsy feeling that was trying to pull him back into unconsciousness. Eff just wasn't fond of sleep; it was waste of time and life! There could be so many things that could be doing if he skipped the hours most people wasted on sleep. Of course, his body needed the rest, but at the moment, Eff didn't seem to care for it.

"As soon as this pill kicks in I'm going to make some toast-" Eff paused to cover his mouth and hold back a yawn. He refused to let that yawn out, not wanting to reveal any other sign of exhaustion, though it was already clear he could doze off in seconds if he'd allow it. "-and work in the basement..." He finally finished his sentence as the urge to yawn subsided, and reached up with his hand to rub the tired out of one of his eyes. His other eye was already half closed, begging to be shut like the other eye that was currently being rubbed, and his straightened spine soon slouched again, unable to hold up all that weight comfortably for long in Eff's current condition.

D-boy rolled his eyes as he watched Mr. Eff battle desperately with his own tiredness. What was the big deal, having a few hours of sleep? It wasn't like he of all people wasted his life with anything else more productive, but no, he continued being so defiant of the simple need. How did he expect to keep doing anything when he kept exhausting himself? It was ridiculous.

D-boy almost regretted in giving Mr. Eff that one pill that raised his hopes once he mentioned the basement. "You are, though. So quit fighting it and go to sleep already." He said, more bitterly than anything else. He had a gaping flesh wound and he was still thinking about smothering that damn wall in blood! It would be so much easier if he just gave up on that and dealt with himself for now, he should've known that Master would be freed eventually, so it was absolutely pointless fighting it! Granted, in that view, it was pointless for D-boy to go get Mr. Eff painkillers, but he did it anyways. Surely it was only because he wanted Mr. Eff to be silent for a while, wasn't it?

No, of course not, even if he wanted to think so. His counterpart was in absolute pain, and D-boy wanted that pain to cease. He still couldn't believe he was the one who caused that, but every time his eyes trailed down to the area of the wound and the blood slightly seeping through the sleeves, he felt a tinge of guilt begin to return to him and rise up.

One move. Just one wrong move and he could've wound up as bad as Mr. Eff was already. Well he already did the deed and fucked everything up, did he not? All it did was change his methods, and... possibly ruin any potential connections with his counterpart... Ah, yes. How he fucked _that_ up indeed. He bit his lip and began walking towards the bedroom himself to try and lead Mr. Eff along.

At first Eff thought that perhaps D-boy wanted him to sleep because he didn't want him painting the wall. But then again, he had gone out of his way to get him some painkillers, and he has been generally helpful to Eff since he had injured him. So, was D-boy concerned about Eff or his trapped master? Maybe it was a little bit of both, but the question was going to be left unanswered since Eff was simply too tired to concentrate on that thought for too long.

"I'm not tired though..." Eff repeated with frown. Even though he was still denying the fact that he was indeed sleepy, he managed to pry himself off the couch, using his good arm for support. He didn't have the energy to continue arguing with his counterpart over his level of exhaustion, so Eff more or less gave up on trying to convince D-boy he wasn't tired, and just decided to follow him to the bedroom to end the pointless argument.

Eff dragged his feet as he slowly followed behind D-boy. His sluggish movement was probably caused from his lack of sleep, rather than his injury at the moment. His steps were uneven and it almost seemed like Eff could fall over on one side or the other at any moment or trip over his own feet, and he barely managed not to. Long blinks were already trying to keep his eyes closed, but Eff fought to keep his eyes open for the sake of seeing where the hell he was going.

"D-boy...?" His tired voice suddenly spoke up again. "If I go to bed, are you going to stay with me?" He asked. Eff wasn't exactly inviting D-boy to join him, but rather he was using this question to see if they were going to sleep together again like they did the other night. Despite it not being a regular occurrence, Eff actually found that night and morning to be somewhat enjoyable, even though they had that fight soon afterwards. It was only natural that they had ended up fighting, since that _was_ a regular occurrence.

D-boy stopped in his tracks before he entered the room, as Mr. Eff spoke up about a subject he certainly wasn't expecting. Well, perhaps the bond between his counterpart and himself wasn't as broken as he expected.

"Is that a request?" He asked, adding a cheeky tone to his voice, hiding his surprise at the question. Truth be told it would probably be necessary for him to stay by Mr. Eff for the night, he'd have to keep an eye on him as there would be much more room to roll around and harm the wound with, so there wasn't much reason to say no. He'd have to keep an eye on him either way, so it'd be simpler to be in the premise.

He was quite appreciative Mr. Eff had given up and decided to follow along in the first place, that saved D-boy one less thing to worry about. It was good timing as well, as he looked like he was going to topple over any moment. In fact, enough that it earned a little concern from D-boy. "Do you need some help into here, or...?" He raised an eyebrow as he looked over Mr. Eff, the poor boy could barely keep his eyes open much less stand. A pity indeed, but at least he'd be in the bed soon and this day would be done with.

Eff had a look of tired confusion after D-boy responded to his question with another question. It seemed like he was having a hard time understanding or registering the question and coming up with an answer. He even had to stop stumbling around for the moment to focus on his answer. "No...? It was a question..." He finally managed to reply, but even so, he sounded unsure about his own answer. It was like he couldn't find a proper response, so he made the most educated guess his exhausted self could come up with at the moment.

Then yet another question had been asked by his older counterpart. This time, though, Eff merely rubbed an eye to think, as to give it an excuse to close. This question wasn't as 'difficult' as the last one, but then again, the last one really wasn't that hard either. His other eye closed as well; as Eff was finding it harder and harder to keep them open the longer he stood and thought. He had stopped rubbing his eye and almost looked like he was going to fall asleep standing up. He started to lean to one side, but thankfully something must have told his body that it shouldn't sleep just yet. His body suddenly jerked back up straight, and his eyes reopened. It was a miracle that Eff remembered D-boy's question or that D-boy had even asked a question.

"Y-yes, I need help..." He admitted with a small nod. Normally, Eff would have denied his need for assistance, but at this point he was so tired he was afraid he might topple over if he tried to take another step. It was hard enough just standing upright and keeping his eyes somewhat open.

D-boy blinked, finding it a bit peculiar that Mr. Eff responded with a 'yes' without much hesitation (aside from the mumbling), the exhaustion must've really been getting to him. But without a moment to spare, D-boy quickly walked back over to Mr. Eff and wrapped his arms around his waist, propping him up in an attempt to help him mosey along.

Upon entering the room, D-boy glanced at the bed, then back to Mr. Eff. He furrowed his eyebrows and sighed, knowing he was probably too tired to even get in the bed on his own. So with a light grunt and tightened grip, D-boy hoisted the younger one up as much as he could and plopped him onto the bed on his good side. He gave out a small pant finally releasing Mr. Eff from his grip, and then proceeded to reach over top of him to grab for the blankets on the other side, pulling them up and covering him. D-boy made sure not to cover the wound, though, as he was positive at this point it would give a nasty sting.

Though as he was about to turn around and leave, seeing how Mr. Eff was finally tucked into bed, he remembered Mr. Eff's question from before. 'If I go to bed, are you going to stay with me?' What a weird thing for him to say, but D-boy couldn't deny the thought had crossed his mind, as this was the only bed in the household. He wondered if Mr. Eff was really asking that rather than his stupor state, and if he'd really be okay with waking up to D-boy again.

Whether he did or not, though, he wouldn't have much of a choice. D-boy refused to sleep on that uncomfortable itch-machine of a couch. He walked to the other side of the bed and slumped down, kicking his boots off and rolling over onto his side, facing the wall. He didn't even care that the door was still open, as the moment his head hit the pillow he felt as if his previous exhaustion was just showered over him again.

Eff let D-boy help him without any resistance. He was glad D-boy managed to get him into the bedroom and even put him onto the bed without bothering his shoulder much. The mattress he was laid down onto had seen its better days, but at the moment it might as well have been a cloud. Eff didn't even recall closing his eyes, but they were apparently closed now. D-boy had pulled the covers over him, which made Eff feel quite cozy and comfortable, or at least as comfortable as you could get with a gouge in your shoulder.

A part of him wondered if D-boy was going to lie down with him, but the other half of him was too tired to give a fuck right now. Usually he had a hard time getting to sleep (mostly because he denied his need for it), and his injured, aching shoulder didn't really help with that fact, but due to his extreme level of exhaustion it actually seemed possible to fall asleep within the minute. It even seemed that his shoulder was hurting less, or he was just so tired he couldn't feel the pain that well, but then again it could have been the pill Eff had taken earlier that was making his shoulder feel a little better.

Either way the lowered level of pain certainly could help him slip into an unconscious state. A few moments before sleep took him, Eff could have sworn he felt the mattress sink behind him with a creak of the springs.


	7. Things Are Heating Up

D-boy rocked back and forth irritably as he felt himself rise to a conscious state, desperately trying to claw back into his unconsciousness, back to where he wasn't aware, the closest thing he'd ever gotten to death in this form. He tried, and he tried hard, but unfortunately to no avail.

He awoke with a scowl as he opened his eyes, all of the senses this humanoid body had returning to him immediately. He had to see the rotted house he was in and acknowledge all of his surroundings, he had to smell it's foul odor from the decaying wood to the decomposing corpses from underneath the floors, he had to taste the nauseating flavor of spit, mucus and enzymes gathered into his mouth after sleep, and he had to hear Mr. Eff behind him making those irritating sleeping sounds, his deep, repeated breathing.

D-boy had to breathe.

He attempted to hold it in since he awoke, but the longer he held it his chest began to heave, until finally it forced him to gasp for air as his body betrayed him, greedily absorbing the oxygen into his lungs. He thought that maybe sleep would be fairly nice, especially since he luckily never dreamt, but instead it was one of the worst parts of being alive. He preferred it rather than being conscious, of course, but the very moment his brain stepped him out of his subconscious and into the reality that he was- in fact- still alive, it was the worst feeling he could imagine. He felt so indignant, he never even asked for any of this, ever! But here he was, lying awake in a fully-fleshed out form, _breathing_ of all things.

For a split second all of his anger and hatred and bitter feelings he'd ever had towards his counterpart returned. He was the reason they were still here, dragging on like this pointlessly, when if he just realized how horrid being in this world was they could've been over and done with! But of course, D-boy remembered that he had the perfect chance to end it all when he unexpectedly stabbed Mr. Eff. He was on the floor writhing in pain, and he didn't even see the knife coming.

D-boy slowly turned over, and eyed the younger boy contemplatively. If he just... grabbed his throat, right now. Strangled him. He wouldn't see that coming, either. His arm was damaged and he would've just woken up, there'd be nothing for him to do, it'd be so easy.

He bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't believe he'd think up such a scenario. Yes, it would most certainly be easy, but it'd be wrong. He lost his temper that one time, that's all. He could never stoop so low, he could never become a murderous fucking _monster_ like Mr. Eff and Johnny!

He was civilized. He was intelligent. He wouldn't let pitiful emotions or desperate desires get the best of him, even though it would take awhile, he was going to do this properly. He didn't need to be a homicidal maniac, or a manipulative fiend, he just needed to tell it like it is as he always has. Mr. Eff would open his eyes and understand one day, he'd come around and realize the horrors of living as much as D-boy had. Eventually, it would happen. He just had to keep at it.

For now, though, he simply let out an exasperated sigh and sat up, brushing away the curls of hair that were tickling his face, and attempting to sweep the crust out of his eyes until it occurred to him that although he changed his shirt, he still left his gloves on. He emitted a hissing noise as his eyes reacted badly to the sudden latex stroking across them. Vicious schemes, burning eyes and still alive as always. What a great way to start off the morning.

Eff woke up; or at least what he perceived at the moment as 'waking up'. As his blurred vision cleared up and his eyes focused he saw he was still in Johnny's room, but something wasn't quite right. He wasn't in the bed he remembered being tucked into before passing out. Rather, Eff had this odd sensation of floating, and even more stranger, he could tell he was upright.

At that moment he realized he wasn't breathing. Desperately he tried to intake some air, as he knew it was one of the things that the human body needed to function, but alas, he had no lungs to do so. Right after that he noticed that he couldn't move. Eff attempted to move his limbs, but he couldn't move anything! He couldn't move his arms, or legs, or blink, or even get out a small twitch! Was he paralyzed? Was he dead? Was he- Johnny then walked into his line of vision. Maybe Eff wasn't paralyzed or dead as he first thought. He then noticed a handle sticking out from his chest; a rather familiar one at that. Didn't that belong to a knife? Eff came to the conclusion that for some reason he was styrofoam. Again. But, that was impossible! He was human before he fell asleep! That was something Eff was certain of. He was able to move, breathe, speak, _feel_, and KILL all on his own, and now he couldn't do anything but see!

Eff felt panic rise in his styrofoam body, even though this body had no heart rate to quicken or pores to produce sweat with. It was a fabrication of panic; a memory of panic; false panic; fake panic. But why was it fake? Why was he styrofoam again? Why couldn't he _move_?! This was ridiculous! This... this might be a dream. No! This is _definitely_ a dream! Eff was more than positive that he couldn't have reverted back to his styrofoam self just by merely falling asleep (although, shamefully, it was one of his deniable fears).

Maybe he could work through this dream. Maybe he could _manipulate_ it. Eff focused on Johnny as hard as he could. 'Nny! Nny! Come let your friend down from this wall!' He demanded with the inner voice he knew the maniac could hear. Or so he thought. Maybe if he got down from this wall he could move a little, or at the very least he wouldn't have this knife in his chest anymore.

The man didn't respond at all. Instead he picked up that dumb 'die-ary' of his and opened it. 'Nny! You shit! Put down that rotten book and get me off of this wall!' Eff cried out as loud as his inner voice could shout. He refused to be ignored by that pathetic excuse of a man.

For a moment, it seemed like Johnny noticed Eff's cry, as he did look up from his book. Eff felt a moment of relief, but the relief only lasted milliseconds as Johnny looked down back to his book and started writing. Relief dropped to seething anger and then suddenly turned back to panic.

This dream- this **nightmare** wasn't bending to any sort of manipulation at all. Eff was beginning to have his doubts. What if this wasn't a dream? What if being human; being real, was the dream? What if this nightmare was actually reality? How could he even tell anymore? He couldn't even move his own squeaky body!

Eff pushed away his doubts, though he was still very much panicking. This nightmare needed to end, and it needed to end _now_. 'Wake up, wake up, wake up,' he repeated trying to force himself awake, 'wake up, wake UP, WAKE UP, WAKE _**UP**_!' Internally he struggled; desperate to rip out of what he assumed was his unconscious state.

It was quite fortunate that Eff was actually dreaming, but his struggles to wake up barely made any difference. Sometime during the night his body shifted, attempting to toss and turn, but with each attempt it bumped into D-boy's body and then moved back in place. Soft whimpers were also emitted during this struggle, but it wasn't loud enough to alarm anyone.

Finally it seemed like Eff had made some progress when things went dark. Either he was waking up or he managed to close his eyes in his dream.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in the basement. Eff was absolutely bewildered and even more confused when he realized he was standing as well. It was a relief though, when he looked down that he saw his _human_ legs supporting him.

D-boy's voice suddenly entered his ears. 'Do you really want to pester me for the rest of our lives, or have me do the same? Or maybe... you think you can _save_ me. Will you love me...? Take care of me...? Heal all my pain?'

He looked back up to see that D-boy was in the room with him, but with his back turned. It took Eff a moment, but he quickly recognized the sarcastic words falling out of D-boy's lips. The now familiar feeling of panic returned, and Eff knew exactly why it did.

'... That's what I thought. Don't fret Mr. Eff, you'll never be lonely again.' Whether he realized it was a dream or not, Eff was quite aware of the moment he was about to relive. D-boy turned, with a knife in hand and lunged at him. 'There'll be plenty of company _IN HELL_!'

Eff so desperately wanted to move, but he was frozen with fear. He cried out just as he did before as the knife plunged into his shoulder. Pain exploded inside his body and spread like wild fire.

Before any more of that moment was so horribly remade in his nightmare, Eff woke up suddenly with a similar cry from his dream. He immediately sat up, breathing roughly and grabbing at the fabric near his wound with his good hand. Eff could almost hear his own hammering heart in his chest, and it almost felt like it was beating so hard that it could burst out of his ribs at any moment. His body shook slightly with each breath, still feeling that fear he had in the dream.

Eff let out a hiss, as the pain from the nightmare still lingered. Was it just a faded illusion of pain or- no, this was real. His shoulder was hurting again, and it wasn't going to let its discomfort go unnoticed, whether Eff was asleep or awake.

While his tired eyes wanted to close again, Eff refused to do so. If he was awake now, which he hoped he was, there was no way he was going back to sleep. Usually if he dreamt the dreams didn't affect him too badly, but dreamless sleep and its darkness made him uneasy as it reminded him of what he thought non-existence would feel like. These recent dreams were different; they were _terrifying_.

Eff stared at the sheets, trying to push away any sleepiness he still had, but most of all he was trying to forget about the nightmares he just had, and denying them the ability to replay in his mind. He still seemed a little out of it; so much that he hardly noticed D-boy next to him.

D-boy felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest as he was abruptly ripped out of his thoughts without warning. Mr. Eff flung up and let out a shrill cry, before clutching his shirt's sleeve near the wound. His breathing was heavy and it didn't take a second look to know he was in pain.

D-boy would have to subside his internal debates for now, as it seemed he would be in need of getting up fairly sooner than he wanted. Still trying to slow his own breath down from the startle, he edged himself up against the bed a bit more, appearing a bit more composed than he was.

"Mr. Eff...? Do forgive the most obvious of questions, but, are you okay?" He asked as he looked the wound's area over himself. Of course he wasn't fucking 'okay'. Why in the world would he be 'okay'? Perhaps Mr. Eff rolled over onto his shoulder in his sleep and irritated the wound, and if that was the case, would it need more bandages?

D-boy groaned and rubbed his eye more gently this time, refusing to remove his gloves despite the annoyance they were to his eyes. It was just way too early for this bullshit.

Eff nearly jumped when he heard D-boy's voice. He had to remind himself that he wasn't in that horrible nightmare anymore, and D-boy was trying to help him now. It wasn't like his older counterpart was ever going to try and hurt him again like that anyways. He probably felt bad enough about this current injury.

Eff took a moment to calm down enough so he could reply to D-boy without his voice shaking with fear. "I... I'm..." Fine? Like hell he was anywhere near fine! "My shoulder hurts..." Eff admitted, though that fact was probably obvious. He also noticed he was feeling rather warm, just like last night. It was tempting to throw off these covers, but Eff didn't really want to move that much at the moment, fearing he might irritate his shoulder some more.

But Eff knew he was going to have to get out of this bed eventually. After all, he had to go down to the basement and at least try to paint the wall today. Eff knew he wouldn't be able to work as well with his shoulder being like it is, but if he didn't work at all there would be grave consequences. He already knew D-boy wasn't going to help him with that particular task either, so Eff was going to have to depend on himself to do this.

Maybe if D-boy gave him another one of those pills he could work better. A pain like this was hard to ignore, and if Eff didn't have such a great responsibility he would consider resting for another day or two, but the wall was something that _shouldn't_ be ignored, and it _had_ to get taken care of no matter what condition Eff was in.

Just as D-boy expected, as if it couldn't have gotten anymore predicted. Maybe he needed another painkiller, they weren't quite able to see the effects of the first one, as they both went to bed straight after. Before he'd do anything, though, maybe they should just go on with their day. Maybe the pain would die down later? He did just wake up...

"I'll give you another tablet in awhile, let's just get up first." He replied as he already turned around, and flopped his legs over the side of the bed and standing up. His body insisted he stretched, but he denied it even that fulfilment for waking him up in the first place, as he proceeded to slowly walk towards the door.

As his hand hovered over the doorknob, though, he paused and looked back at his injured young counterpart, leering at him almost.

He sighed. "I'm not going to have to carry you again, am I?"

Eff wasn't exactly happy with what D-boy said. He would prefer to get the painkillers now so he could go down in the basement and work sooner. "How long is 'awhile', exactly?" He asked, trying this best not to glare at his counterpart and trigger some kind of argument. Eff wasn't really that tired anymore, aside from the usual sluggishness anyone would feel in the morning, but the agony from his shoulder was more than enough to discourage any possible arguing with D-boy.

Eff let go of the shirt to use his good hand to take off the covers. While taking a pill in _awhile_ wasn't something he wanted to hear, getting out of this warm bed would be nice. It was enough that he was in pain; he didn't want to be overheated too.

He paused his movement when he heard D-boy ask a question. Eff was almost insulted, but maybe D-boy was just concerned. He could barely remember anything before this morning, but when he first woke up after getting this injury he vaguely recalled not being able to move that much on his own. "I'll try to walk on my own, if that makes _you_ feel better." He replied in a not-so-pleasant manner. Eff almost regretted it immediately. Why did he have to go and say that? Surely that would irritate his counterpart a bit. Eff couldn't help that it was almost an unconscious reaction to try and say something that would bother the other and get into a fight.

Regardless, he turned to face the edge on the bed, put his feet on the ground, and supported himself with his good arm as he tried to stand. Standing wasn't too hard, but his body really didn't appreciate carrying its own weight in this condition. Eff tried to bear with this annoyance, and follow D-boy to the door. He was going to have to stand and walk on his own when he went to the basement, after all. He had to get 'used' to the pain or something, if he ever wanted to go downstairs.

"Awhile is awhile. We only have a small amount of these things, do you really want to go and waste them all right now?" D-boy replied. They did have a limited amount, and there'd be no way he would going back out there so soon just because Mr. Eff decided to be a moron and take all the tablets at once.

As Mr. Eff answered his question, though, D-boy furrowed his eyebrows at his counterpart's attitude. "It does, actually. You're not exactly the easiest person to carry, if you catch my drift." He remarked with a scoff as he opened the door and began walking towards the living room.

That probably wasn't the best thing to say. They really didn't need a fight, but D-boy wasn't in the mood to oppose it, either. It was rather instinctive in him to do so, and to be honest, any other time he would've felt preeminence if he managed to upset Mr. Eff in the slightest.

Eff did seem to be walking better than he was last night, since he was more awake. Though he didn't look like he was going to topple over or lose his balance, it was more than obvious that walking wasn't making his pain any better.

He was a little irritated that D-boy was still giving him a vague answer for 'awhile'. It could be an hour, or several hours before getting Eff would get the next pill. What if D-boy was just keeping the pills away from him to watch him suffer? Well, no, it was a possibility, but if D-boy wanted to watch him suffer and rot away he wouldn't have gone out of his way to even get those pills. It seemed that he was concerned about the amount of pills they had and wanted to use them sparingly. Unfortunately Eff thought it was quite stupid in a way.

"Why did you get so little pills, then?" He questioned. With how much pain he was in, Eff was surprised that D-boy didn't get a whole shelf of pills. If that one measly bottle was all he had gotten, then he would probably have to go back out sooner than later. As long as Eff was in agonizing pain, he wanted a pill to take the edge off of it. And as mentioned before, he would prefer to have one _now_.

Again, D-boy didn't cease to make a remark that didn't insult Eff. He didn't hesitate to glare at D-boy as he was described to be 'not the easiest person to carry', though this time Eff decided to let it slide. Fighting didn't seem what either of them wanted to do, so why bother? Instead he followed D-boy to the living room in silence.

Eff did make a glance towards the basement's direction, but then moved his gaze to the couch. With this pain it would be nearly impossible to get anything done. If D-boy wasn't going to give him a pill, then Eff was going to have to wait for his shoulder to calm down, or just wait until he can think he can bare the pain while moving. But until then, sitting down on the couch didn't seem like a bad idea.

As he was making his way to the couch, his stomach decided to growl. How inconvenient, but a human body did need food to function, whether it was injured or not. At least Eff could help his stomach and prevent hunger pains.

He then remembered he didn't have to make food on his own. If D-boy didn't want to carry him, he might as well make him some breakfast. That wasn't too hard for his counterpart, was it? Eff spoke up again once he sat down on the couch cushions.

"D-boy, make me some toast." It really sounded more like an order than a request. Eff quickly noticed this and as an attempt to keep some neutrality between them he quickly added another word. "P-... please..." He bit his lip and glanced away, knowing he probably never used that word during his entire existence, or even when he was styrofoam. It was a little odd and somewhat embarrassing, but as long as it kept a little truce going it was... fine.

D-boy was entering the living room when he heard Mr. Eff say something from down the hall. Something about the small amount of medicine? He huffed, he did grab two containers aplenty, but that girl that got away... Devi, she apparently needed some too, and there'd be no way he would've tried to argue with _her_ about it. He got one container that they'd have to use sparingly, and that was that.

He was about to go into the kitchen reluctantly for himself, as Mr. Eff followed behind and seated himself onto the couch, proceeding to speak again. D-boy gave his counterpart a rather aggravated look at the sudden demand, but his expression was quickly swapped to a more baffled look as he heard the last word.

...'Please'? Had Mr. Eff ever even used that word before? D-boy wasn't even aware it was in his vocabulary, and by the looks of Mr. Eff, he didn't either. "Well... sure, why not. I was going to go make something anyways." He replied. There wasn't any point in turning the boy down if he was going to be so polite about it, or as polite as either of them could be.

He proceeded on his way into the kitchen, and fetched the bread, plates and a knife. He popped a couple slices into the toaster, and leaned against the counter as he waited. He, himself, would just subside with a plain piece of toast, but he recalled Mr. Eff absolutely gorging himself with an assortment of weird toppings.

He opened the fridge and scanned around; there appeared to be nothing _but_ toppings in there, he wasn't sure what to even pull out. "Hey, Mr. Eff... What do you even want on your toast?" He asked, looking back over at him.

Eff began looking for the remote. Any hopes of getting 'rid' of this pain would be to distract himself from it. He dug around the couch cushions and... nothing. He let out a frustrated sigh, but a moment afterwards he saw that the remote was on the floor.

One thing was going right though. Thanks to that 'please' it seemed like D-boy was going to make him toast. At least there was a little something to look forward to.

Eff started to reach down for the remote with his good arm, but suddenly stopped short and took in a sharp breath. That damned remote was actually farther away then he thought, and twisting his body to reach for it pulled on his stitches a little. He leaned back into the couch and glared at the remote, trying to rethink of how he was going to grab it. His good hand once again gripped the fabric near his injured shoulder as the thought.

Eff's train of thought was broken when he heard D-boy ask what kind of toast topping he wanted. "Butter!" He immediately replied. But then again... "A-and jelly too!" Eff quickly added. Butter and jelly was always a nice, tasty combination on toast after all. The mere thought and the smell of toast being made in the toaster was enough to make his stomach growl again. He hoped D-boy was going to make a bunch of toast. If he wasn't able to have a ton of pills to ease his pain, perhaps D-boy would allow him to have a ton of toast to ease his hunger.

Now... what was he doing again? He was in the middle of thinking about something before his counterpart interrupted. Eff glanced down and re-spotted the remote. Oh, right. That stupid thing. How did it get on the floor anyways? Having already forgotten his last attempt, Eff reached down for the remote once again. And just like last time he felt a small tug on his stitches. He hissed, but forced himself to grab the remote before retreating back into the couch cushions. His shoulder didn't appreciate it, but there was no real damage done. His injury just started to sting and burn a little more. It was irritating, but at least he could turn on the TV now.

D-boy looked around for Mr. Eff's desired toppings, and after a few minutes of pushing jars and the rare actual food out of the way he managed to find a stick of butter and a half-empty jar of strawberry jelly. He almost jumped as the toast popped out, but managed to not drop anything. He placed the objects onto the counter and took out the toast, tossing them onto the plate and unscrewing the jar's top. He then proceeded to neatly spread the jelly and butter onto both slices, avoiding the edges so Mr. Eff could actually hold it without his gloves getting messier than usual.

He picked up the plate with the 'completed' toast, and quickly grabbed a slice of plain bread from the bag to stuff into his own mouth before returning to the living room. He sat down on the side of the couch opposing his counterpart, and placed the plate down onto the coffee table, sliding it over to Mr. Eff. "Bon appétit." He mumbled through the prolonged bites of his bread.

Eff stopped flipping through the channels when D-boy finally came into the living room with breakfast. He was excited, or as excited as he could be with the amount of pain he was in, but he frowned when he saw only two pieces of toast on the place. Just... _two_? God, that's hardly enough for a snack! He'd be hungry immediately after he was done eating those! He still picked up the plate so he could eat the two pieces, regardless, but this was definitely not enough food for his breakfast.

"D-boy, you don't think that... _this_ is enough toast, do you?" Eff asked, gesturing the plate with his good hand. Well, perhaps D-boy didn't think that far. D-boy hardly ate a thing, but he should've known that Eff had a rather... large appetite. As if to prove that this amount of toast wasn't sufficient enough for his breakfast, Eff nearly ate the first piece in two bites. "Unlike _you_, I actually like eating!" He spoke up again, not even caring if there was still a bit of toast in his mouth.

Eff then picked up the second piece off the plate and placed the empty plate next to his counterpart. "So if it's not that difficult for you, could you make more toast?" Eff was being a little rude, despite of his recent 'please', but his aching shoulder combined with D-boy's bad attitude and the lack of toast wasn't making him feel any better. All he wanted was some more damn toast. Surely that wasn't much to ask for.

D-boy slowly chewed his simple slice of bread as Mr. Eff continued to complain. He didn't even finish the toast D-boy already made as he talked; making him quite glad he decided to sit on the opposite side.

Once he finished his own breakfast, he stared at Mr. Eff for a few moments, a deadpan expression concealing his urge to simply push him off of the couch by his bad shoulder. After about a minute or two of silent glaring, he stood back up, snatched Mr. Eff's plate from him, and walked back to the kitchen.

He made his way over to the rusty old stove, and turned it on, setting it to high heat. He practically tossed the plate onto the counter as he went through the cupboards, taking out a pan, a bowl, and a couple utensils, and placing the pan on the stove. After those were set, he went to the fridge and gathered the few ingredients he noted last time he checked, not expecting he'd be using them so soon.

He cracked the eggs into the bowl, added milk, cinnamon and stirred, then grabbed the bag of bread and dunked at least four slices into the mix before finally setting them into the pan. He waited rather impatiently, flipping the pieces over often with a spark, but it was eventually rewarded when they turned a proper golden brown. He turned the stove off, let the toast cool down slightly, then neatly placed them onto Mr. Eff's plate. He then buttered the toast heavily and took the syrup (a coating he was surprised Mr. Eff didn't use up), cinnamon and sugar and sprinkled it all onto each slice.

He huffed and crossed his arms as he overlooked the french toast, certainly this would be enough for Mr. Eff for the time being? He wouldn't complain about this too now would he? Even if D-boy was a beginner...

He placed a fork and knife on the side of the crowded plate and finally returned back to the living room once more. He seated himself afar from Mr. Eff again, and slid the plate over to him a bit more forcefully now. "There," he spoke, leaning back into the couch. "Is _that_ better, oh abyssal-stomached one?"

D-boy hadn't said anything, but when he left the couch, Eff assumed his complaints were heard. Hopefully, D-boy would make a vast amount of toast this time. As he waited, he finished off his second piece of toast, but after he was finished, D-boy still hadn't returned with more toast. By the smell in the air, though, D-boy was definitely cooking something.

Eff looked towards the kitchen's direction, wondering what was taking so long. The scent was familiar (cinnamon, maybe?) and made his stomach growl again. If he just sat there and waited for D-boy his stomach might get so riled up from the smell it would start to cramp, so instead Eff looked towards the TV and started flipping through some channels again to distract himself.

It was apparently a good distraction since it seemed that D-boy was suddenly in the room. Eff stared at the plate. What he saw wasn't just any normal toast. "D-boy did you... did you make _french_ toast?" Eff was surprised more than anything, but a smile did spread across his face. He didn't even know that D-boy knew how to make french toast! It was actually one of Eff's favorite kinds of toast, but it took longer to make than regular toast so Eff wasn't able to make it every day. And that definitely would have explained that cinnamon-y smell from earlier.

If D-boy was closer Eff would have hugged him. But now the question was if it tasted good or not. He grabbed the fork and knife, not really caring if he had to use his bad arm to use both utensils or not, and cut off a corner of the slice. He put it in his mouth and instead of chewing and swallowing in his usual fast pace, he let the piece of food linger in his mouth so his tongue could taste it properly. It was absolutely sweet, with all the sugar and syrup that was on it, and Eff could even tell that there was butter soaked in. As he swallowed his smile grew even wider into a grin.

"Why didn't you make this in the first place?! This is the best french toast I've ever tasted!" He exclaimed excitedly. Eff didn't even bother cutting up the rest of the piece, he just forked it and shoved as much as possible into his grinning mouth. If he just used his good arm he wouldn't have to bother his shoulder, but really, he ate like this out of enthusiasm. He didn't even care if syrup got on his mouth or in his hair. It even tasted better than when he made his own french toast, because he often got distracted while he was cooking it, which resulted in burnt french toast most of the time. But _this_ french toast; the french toast that D-boy made, it was absolutely perfect. If there was anything Eff truly loved about D-boy, it would be his french toast.

D-boy almost let out a small 'heh' at how astonished Mr. Eff was; it seemed he hit some sort of jackpot on his counterpart's favorite food. A feeling of irregular pride struck him, not so much that he managed to get Mr. Eff to shut up and accept something, but he earned such a wide smile from him. D-boy was baffled by himself, never had he expected to feel proud about making someone _smile_ of all things, it was almost off-putting how foreign it was. Nevertheless, he achieved it, as Mr. Eff had one of the happiest expressions D-boy had seen on him in quite a few days.

He was more surprised than he thought he'd be when Mr. Eff exclaimed his delight, before recklessly wolfing the whole thing into his mouth without even cutting the rest of it. He swore that boy's mouth had to be a fucking black hole or something.

To D-boy's shock, the food seemed to have brightened his mood so much that he was even moving his wounded arm of all things. Surely he'd regret all of this enthusiastic devouring once his arm reminded him of its condition, and his stomach reminded him why you're supposed to chew your food.

D-boy cringed when he realized Mr. Eff was so ecstatic that he either didn't notice or didn't care that his sloppy eating was getting syrup and cinnamon all over himself, including D-boy's shirt. Blood was enough, he didn't need garnishes soaking into it as well. Only morning, and D-boy already knew he'd have to go through the trouble of getting his fussy counterpart into a bathtub again...

Eff continued his excited sloppy eating until every piece of french toast was devoured. He even started to use the knife to assist the fork in getting the whole pieces of toast into his mouth, rather than using the knife to cut them into smaller, manageable sizes.

Even after he was done, Eff licked as much syrup as he could off off his lips and around his mouth. He might have started licking the plate too, but the french toast had succeeded in making him very full, so he decided against it. The french toast was a wonderful, sweet, filling treat, though! He hoped that D-boy would make it for him again sometime.

Now that breakfast was taken care of and his hunger was long gone, Eff's thoughts reminded him of how he should work on the basement today. The mere thought reduced his grin back to a smile. It was true, he had to get his ass in the basement sometime, but... to be honest, with how full he was, he didn't really want to move. His aching shoulder wasn't exactly inspiring much movement either, but the past amazing breakfast gave Eff something to smile about. He leaned back into the couch to relax a little, and hoped that if he relaxed his shoulder would calm down some. Using his bad arm to eat didn't exactly hurt it, but movement wasn't particularly the best thing for his injury.

"D-boy, would you make more amazing french toast later?" He suddenly broke the silence with a question, and smiled at his counterpart. Oh, Eff hoped he would. It was the next best thing he could get besides another painkiller. If he couldn't be pain-free, he could at least be happy and full.

D-boy was in disbelief at how fast his counterpart consumed four slices of thickly- buttered toast, yet all he could forge into his mouth was a simple bread slice. He was puzzled enough staring at the empty plate that he was caught off-guard as the other spoke. It wasn't that hard to make, but if he made it again, he'd certainly have to go out and buy more ingredients. D-boy would have to think of a much less idiotic scheme if he ever planned to steal something again. So even if Mr. Eff was in such a condition, he'd have to earn that 'treat'.

"Of course, as long as you don't whine as much about your medicine, I can see to making some more sometime." He replied. He really was determined on keeping a fair amount of them, especially with how bad Mr. Eff's wound was; they had to be like a last resort.

D-boy felt his pockets to make sure they were still securely out of Mr. Eff's grasp, and was relieved to find that they remained there, despite him forgetting to put them somewhere before going to bed.

Almost automatically Eff started to make some sort of retort back at his counterpart. "Well, maybe I wouldn't whine so much if-"

He was going to make some sort of cocky comeback of sorts, but he paused. D-boy's french toast was really good. Did he really want to risk such a delicious thing? He sighed and felt a bit conflicted, but smiled. "...I guess I could _try_ not to whine." He stated.

That french toast was something he would very much like to have again someday, and if all he had to do to get it was to keep his mouth shut about the painkillers, then so be it. Though that didn't mean he would stop wanting the medication.

He glanced at D-boy's pockets, noticing that he was checking for something. So _that_ must be where the pills were. Eff looked away to avoid staring, and wondered if he should do anything with this information. D-boy did sleep more than he did, so if he was going to take the pills it would just be a matter of waiting. It was obvious that Eff couldn't take on his counterpart in a physical fight, so any means of getting the pills on his own would have to do with his wit and patience. If D-boy didn't give him any pills in what Eff would think as 'awhile', Eff might just have to resort to that sort of immature method of getting what he wanted. He really didn't care how low it was though; he was in a lot of pain after all. If the pill from yesterday had any effect, Eff was sure it had worn off by now since he slept. But whether he was going to have to take the pills or not, he was going to have to wait. Eff wanted to wait to stop feeling so full before doing anything else. Even with the pain, the uplifted mood from the french toast was inspiring him to get up a little, but not until he relaxed and rested just a bit more.

D-boy ceased toying with the container in his pocket and lifted an eyebrow at Mr. Eff, who seemed to be about to make a remark. He was surprised to find that he stopped within in mid-sentence, probably having a sudden understanding of D-boy's bargain to 'not whine'.

"Well, good. See? The more patient you are, the closer you are to that french toast." He replied, almost with a patronizing vibe. Despite the whole ordeal being D-boy's fault in the first place, he wasn't going to tolerate any of Mr. Eff's pointless arguing. He was going to have to earn these sorts of things from D-boy, wound or without.

Eff had to stop himself from glaring at his older counterpart. He definitely didn't like that patronizing tone D-boy had, but he really didn't want to break whatever neutrality they apparently have for the moment either.

Maybe it was best to stop their interactions here and try to go to the basement. While it was a decent thought, when Eff tried to lean forward to get off the couch his shoulder insisted that he stay put with a sudden sharp pain. He winced at the pain, and then leaned back into the cushions in defeat.

Eff felt a frown tug at his lips, but he kept a small smile on his face. Well, it looked like he was going to stay on the couch just a bit more, even though he wasn't sure how long he could sit here without starting up some sort of dispute between himself and his counterpart.

Eff thought for a moment, wondering if they should both stay silent or talk about something. Silence was a good thing between them, as in, it wasn't arguing, but if he ever wanted to get closer to D-boy, silence wasn't going to get him anywhere. So maybe they should have a conversation. Eff would have to be careful when picking the topic though. Usually he tried to convince D-boy how great happiness and life was, but that always ended up in screaming and tears.

He then glanced at the plate he recently emptied, and immediately came up with a topic. "So, how did you make that french toast anyways, D-boy?" He asked with a smile. "It was obviously well-made! Perfect, even! Or at least much better than any french toast I could make. I want to know how you made it so well!" Eff decided that some compliments would help put D-boy in a good mood and get him talking, but Eff also grinned because he rather liked what he had thought of to talk about. This subject was nearly perfect! There was almost no way they could possibly start fighting by just talking about french toast, and maybe, if Eff managed to pay attention to D-boy's words long enough he might be able to get some tips on making good french toast, since all his past attempts have failed.

"Oh... really? It was that good?" D-boy was surprised by the sudden compliment, he was really expecting a fight of some kind to start over the medicine, but this was fine too.

"Well... thanks. I just paid attention to the ingredients, I suppose. Usually when I see you trying to cook anything other than toast, you seem to just leave it there, and forget about it. I'd advise you to keep an eye on those things, cooking is a manual job that requires manual labor." He replied, his calm tone switching to almost a hiss at the end. He could undoubtedly recall all the times of which he had to rush to the kitchen and turn off the stove to avoid the whole place from burning down.

Mr. Eff had such a low attention-span it was almost unreal. D-boy wondered what the boy would be like without him keeping a watchful eye over the younger counterpart. Granted, he wouldn't be in a situation like this probably, but he would've been in it eventually, and no one would be there to drag him back up the stairs.

At first it seemed like the compliments had succeeded in making D-boy just a little less depressing. Or at least his compliments were enough for that 'thanks' Eff caught in D-boy's dialog. It was rather rare for either of them to thank each other after all, but it was a good thing that they were starting to!

Eff almost frowned when he heard that near hiss at the end of his counterpart's response. "I don't just 'leave it there'." Eff tried to keep his voice in a somewhat cheerful tone, or at least a tone that didn't sound like he was trying to argue or pick a fight. "It just takes _so_ long for some things to bake! I don't want to sit there and waste time, so I go do something else." He explained.

Although, Eff has to admit, that when he did leave to go do something else, he rarely returned to something good. In fact, it was because he left that everything he attempted to make burned, but he honestly couldn't help it. Waiting around for something to bake was like wasting time, and wasting time was like wasting life! He HAD to go do something or he'd just be so god damn bored! Really the only thing he didn't burn was toast, and that's why he enjoyed making tons of it, as well as eating it all. A thickly buttered piece of toast was much more satisfying and tasty than cinnamon buns that seemed to be made out of charcoal.

"How can you stand waiting for things to bake, D-boy?" Eff decided to ask, since it was obviously an idea he didn't like enough to understand. He tried to ask such a question in a happy manner, or almost jokingly. Anything to make the question seem friendly. Maybe he would have added a chuckle at the end, but his shoulder pain rather was good at discouraging such things. Even his smile was having a hard time of hiding the fact that he was indeed in a decent amount of pain at the moment.

D-boy rolled his eyes as Mr. Eff gave out excuses. Did he really find ten minutes of work to be that troublesome? It wasn't like he'd shrivel up and die within the timespan that baking took. His concept of wasting time was quite flawed, as with distracting himself wasted food. A lot of food. D-boy had came into to the kitchen many times to find it smelling of smoke and burnt crumbs decorating the floor almost as much as the blood stains, it was just appalling.

He blinked, confused by Mr. Eff's question. It almost sounded like a jab, but it was overlaid with his usual joviality. Something was odd, though. Mr. Eff's voice sounded more forced than usual. D-boy supposed that with his current condition he wouldn't be able to put on such an ideal optimism for himself, so it was starting to fade. He shook his head. He was getting too into this. He shrugged it off; it was just a simple question in Mr. Eff's typical sickeningly gleeful voice. He just obviously wasn't as cheerful as he often was, unsurprisingly.

"I just wait. It's not like I have anything else to do, and even then it's really not that big of a deal. It's no chore, just a little while and it ends, and you got whatever you wanted to bake." He finally replied, a less bitter voice than before. "Honestly, I think you'd be a great cook if you could just keep focused on something for more than a minute."

'Just waiting' seemed much too simple and boring, and Eff wasn't exactly content with D-boy's reply. That is until the last sentence was spoken. Eff had to take a moment to check if he had heard his older counterpart correctly. Did... did D-boy just say that he think Eff would be a great cook? Did D-boy just... _compliment_ Eff? He did. He did, indeed! Hearing such a thing made an odd feeling of joy rise up and made Eff's smile grow. Why, he could almost feel some added heat to his face! ...Or was that already there? Well, regardless of body temperatures, Eff was quite happy to hear something _nice_ come out of D-boy's mouth for once.

"Do you really think so?" Eff asked with a grin. He wasn't really fishing for more compliments; he just had a hard time believing that D-boy for once in his life said something that made him actually happier.

"...Maybe I could try to wait a little longer when baking." He stated. "I mean, I guess I could, since..." His voice trailed off a bit and he glanced at his injured shoulder. But he quickly looked away and make sure that the smile he had was still on his face. If Eff wasn't able to work in the basement some days, yet too bored to rest, baking might be a good option. Maybe it would even distract him from worrying about the wall for a while. Of course the only cooking supplies around was bread, so if he ever wanted to try eventually he would have to get out the house and 'buy' the supplies. Eff did recall having some ingredients around for french toast, since it was his favorite food, but D- boy had surely already used those up this morning.

"...since I'll be spending more time at the house." Eff finally ended his sentence, though it was doubtful that this was originally what he was going to say.

D-boy noticed Mr. Eff's smile widen at his comment, but what really caught his attention was that he was... blushing? No, no. Surely it was just effects from the wound, it was unfortunate enough for D-boy to admit that Mr. Eff had much better control of his body somehow, or a better grip on it at least. Surely he wouldn't just _blush_ like that at such an offhand speculation. Who knew, maybe D-boy was just more emotional than he'd like to think, and Mr. Eff usually was this calm and collected, but that still didn't stray from the potential that his younger counterpart was blushing from something he said.

Did he really think so? Well, why would he have said such a thing if not? Unlike Mr. Eff and his so-called 'friendly' ways, it wasn't as if D-boy would just throw around things like compliments. He saved those. They were never anything he'd like to admit, but he felt he might've well stated it, seeing as it was only miniscule.

"Indeedydoody, Mr. Eff!" He answered. He was astonished when it seemed he was actually listening to D-boy's advice, something he really didn't expect, but if he did it would most certainly do the boy some use. Mr. Eff appeared to be continuing, but trailed off in mid-sentence. It was only a split second, but D-boy noticed Mr. Eff's eyes gaze down at his injury, then dart right back up, his consistent smile still plastered onto his face. Although, in that split second, D-boy felt his chest tighten again.

Eff was happy to hear D-boy confirm the compliment he had given him, and he couldn't help but to smile even wider until he grinned. D-boy didn't give out compliments often, and if it wasn't for that fact, Eff would have suspected a lie. But Eff could tell lies apart from truths rather well, and this compliment was indeed truthful. It was also why he couldn't stop himself from smiling and grinning. He might as well say 'thanks' for that compliment. Perhaps such politeness would show D-boy how much he appreciated the comment.

Along with this urge to thank his counterpart, came the urge to get up and do something. And by 'do something' Eff knew very well that he wanted to go down to the basement and at the very least check if the wall was okay. This little surge of joy inspired Eff to get up, and if he couldn't do anything physically down in the basement, like slaughtering the victims for paint, at least he might be able to ease his mind. The only problem was actually getting off the couch. Maybe if Eff could just get off the couch, he could start to move around on his own, despite the pain. But he had already tried getting up from the couch on his own before, with little success.

Eff then realized who was sitting next to him again. Oh, how could he not think of this before? He could ask D-boy for help! Well, help off the couch. He knew D-boy will most certainly not help him in the basement.

"Thank you, D-boy!" Eff started with some thanks, like he originally wanted to, but paused for a moment to think of how to word his request. "Um... You wouldn't mind helping me off the couch, would you?" He gave his counterpart a smile as he made his request. He decided to ask more politely than the way he had asked D-boy to make him food earlier, as he didn't want to somehow offend his counterpart when he had already had gotten him to compliment him like that.

D-boy took a breath, shaking away the feeling for a moment. Mr. Eff seemed fine, or... at least as fine as he could be. He was smiling, at the least. In fact, he appeared alright enough that he even _thanked_ D-boy. "Oh. You're welcome." He replied. He never expected such a reaction to anything he'd say, but there Mr. Eff was, thanking him. Well, it was a compliment after all, so of course he'd react so joyful to a remark that was deemed positive in his mind.

Although, his mood wouldn't help his physical state. He apparently needed help to get up. As indeed reluctant as D-boy was to get off of the couch, Mr. Eff was exceptionally polite about it, and that was enough motivation for him. With a nod he stood up and moved over in front of Mr. Eff. He cracked his knuckles before bending over slightly and gripping his counterpart by the sides and stepping back, hoisting the boy upwards.

While D-boy hadn't replied vocally to his request, Eff did see that his counterpart had risen up from the couch to help him. This kept his smile on his face continuous. It was a bit of a wonder, though, if Eff had been polite to D-boy genuinely, or just to get him to do something he wanted him to do. It seemed that manners helped a lot in getting D-boy to cooperate with him, and they also helped them to fight less often. Eff may want to use them more often, whether it was for manipulation or not.

Eff was a little wobbly at first when he found himself to be on his feet again. He held onto his older counterpart with his good arm until he regained his balance, hoping D-boy wouldn't push him away as he did so. Falling was certainly not a thing Eff would want to do right now, especially with how he might fall on his wound. He fell on it before, and he would prefer if that didn't happen again.

Eff sighed in relief once he seemed stable and let go of D-boy. It seemed, for the moment, he was able to stand on his own, and he was quite glad that D-boy had managed to help him up without disturbing his wound! "Thanks for the help!" With the earlier conclusion that manners had a positive effect on their relationship, Eff decided to thank his counterpart once again.

"I'll be in the basement, if you need me." He then told D-boy, being careful not to let his smile fade. Eff turned and began to walk towards the basement's entrance. While he seemed to be walking just fine, it did seem like Eff was walking a little slower than he would. That could be due to the pain he was in, but also it could be the fact he was trying to move around carefully and not accidentally bump his wound on a corner or the wall. He also didn't need to tell D-boy why he was going to the basement. His older counterpart knew the reason for going down into that damned basement as well as Eff did.

D-boy stayed put as his younger counterpart held onto him for support, the boy's legs wobbling slightly as he steadied himself and pulled away. Though it was brief, D-boy certainly felt how warm Mr. Eff had gotten. He would usually blame his coldness on his thin t-shirt, but seeing as how it was _Mr. Eff_ who was currently wearing it (and to much of D-boy's dismay, ruining it), that heat was without a doubt from the wound, and if it kept up like that he would surely get another fever.

D-boy was about to question his counterpart on how well he really was feeling, but with another quick 'thank you' and a reminder of where he was going, Mr. Eff hobbled away towards his destination. He started going after Mr. Eff and was about to call out, but the reminder of where he was going and the actions he was about commence struck something in D-boy. He halted almost immediately, and his somewhat-neutral expression slowly twisted back into his typical scowl.

Mr. Eff was going down there to paint blood the wall, the wall that kept his Master locked away. Mr. Eff was a murderer. Men, women, children, animals, He didn't discriminate. Whether they did something deserving of it or not (most cases not), he took their life, and D-boy knew he enjoyed every damn minute of it without any shame. He always heard him laughing down there, enjoying as he tore apart their bodies and spilt their blood, and he took that blood and painted the fucking wall.

D-boy was almost seething at this point, but it wasn't like he could really do anything. Even in such a fragile state as this, if Mr. Eff was riled up enough, he'd surely kill him. As nice as it'd be to die just like that, D-boy had a job to do and wasn't about to fail it again, even if it meant he had to listen to screams from down below and have his Master forced away more and more. At least it wouldn't matter in the end. After his Master got out, they'd all die. It would happen.

He just... had to...

keep at it.

He still found it rather upsetting, though. Knowing the boy that he could almost say in the slightest way he was enjoying his time with was such a _monster_, but he couldn't stop him. Not for now. That was just the way he was. The thoughts helped D-boy, though. His guilt of harming such a person diminished instantly, at least for the time being, and he walked away without a word.

Eff was happy that D-boy hadn't tried to stop him or even say anything while he headed to the basement. It was nice to know that his counterpart knew that he couldn't stop Eff from tending to the wall. If he is able to do so with this injury, perhaps nothing would be able to stop him from working in the basement.

Eff carefully and slowly climbed down the basement steps, and silently wished they had a railing of sorts to hold onto. Eff settled for placing his good hand on the nearby wall as he continued to walk deeper and deeper into the basement. The cooler underground air felt good on his obviously overheated skin, but that was the only relief this merciless basement gave.

The smell of rotting flesh and decaying bodies and old blood mixed with dirt and aged wood was a familiar smell by now, but it still made it a little hard to breathe, and would have made anyone else sick to their stomach. Not to mention all the natural creaks and groans the basement made the environment an even more unwelcoming place. At least the sounds were assumed 'natural', since it was assumed that their master behind the wall wasn't anywhere near getting out yet.

The deeper Eff went into the basement, the thicker the air got. As if the ever growing stench wasn't enough to make this visit unpleasant. Eff had to stop several times and lean against the wall on his good side to rest as he made his way further into the basement. Even though he was going _down_ the stairs, his injured body did not like walking around that much. Eff refused to actually sit down and rest, though, in fear of he might not be able to get up on his own. This made him wonder if he'd even be able to go back upstairs on his own. If going down into the basement was exhausting, he couldn't imagine the strain on his body when he tried to go back up. The thought was pushed away for the moment, as it was not something he had to worry about just yet.

It seemed like hours before he actually got to the room he wanted to go to, but he did make it. This room was always the room that seems to smell the worst. That damn, bloody room with that stupid, bloody wall. Eff frowned at the wall almost automatically. He was afraid of it, or... the 'master' behind it, but he never would admit it that out loud. What he would admit, though, was his extreme hate for it. It was keeping him enjoying his life to its full potential. In a way, Eff felt like a slave to the wall. He always had to return to it to repaint it and he couldn't leave this shitty house because of it. In a way, he was still connected to his master and boy did he hate this fact with a raging passion.

He nearly glared daggers at the wall. It was still covered in a decent amount of blood, yes, but the ever so slightest shade of brown was starting to show. That disgusting dried blood brown. It looked like shit. Eff hated seeing that color on this wall. Not only did it bring alarm to him, but he preferred seeing the dark and rich reds of fresh blood.

Yes. Blood. Speaking of which, he should get to work. He looked around the room to see if there might be any 'leftover' paint he might be able to use, but to his dismay, he usually used all the collected paint in one night. All that was around was dirty, dried up paint buckets.

Eff sighed. That meant he had to actually kill some people for fresh blood. He never thought he'd ever be so discouraged to kill someone! But due to his condition he'd really rather have the blood magically be in the buckets and on the wall. He picked up a nearby knife, and an empty bucket. He put the knife in the bucket so he only had to use his good hand.

A thought came up of how he could use the machines down here to do the dirty work, rather than doing it himself. Unfortunately, though, Eff preferred to kill his victims by hand. It was much more fun that way. So all the victims he had down here were merely chained to the walls, waiting for their demise. As much as he might love to use the machines now, he probably didn't have the strength to move the victims around like that, and he was certain D-boy wouldn't help him with such a task.

Now, there were victims in this room he could easily kill right now and get this over with but... _BUT_ he stopped himself to think. And he concentrated on this thought more than he would with others, as it was of great importance.

There were also victims, in other rooms. Rooms that were further away, yes, but there were others. Guessing that he might not be able to go out and get more people he was going to have to 'ration' the supply he had. How many victims were down here? How many buckets should he put on the wall every day? How many coats should he give the wall every week? These were very important questions that couldn't be answered until he answered the first: 'How many victims were down here?'. As much as he would like to get this over with and paint the wall as soon as possible, knowing how big of a supply of paint he had was vitally important.

He kept the bucket and knife with him on hand in case he decided to change his mind, but he did leave the room with the bloody wall to roam around the basement to count his victims the best he could.

Eff also had to consider that humans had a 'due date'. So while he had to ration the paint for the wall each day, he would also have to kill off his victims fast enough so that they wouldn't die from disease, starvation, or dehydration or some stupid crap like that. They had to die by the knife or else they would be of no use.

As Eff walked around with this thought in mind, he got the idea that it might be best to kill off the victims that were the furthest away from the wall first, and the nearest last. That is what he was essentially doing when he gathered victims from the city. He didn't bother their neighbors at all since they were being 'saved for an emergency', but he did love going out to the city and gathering a bunch of helpless people. So it would make sense to do something similar in this basement, due to the circumstances.

Eff then had another thought. While it was impossible to actually calculate what rate he would have to kill off his victims so they weren't perish early, he did take in the fact that he was injured. So maybe he would just put one bucket of blood on the wall per day, and two if he felt rather energetic. It was better than nothing, and it was the only compromise he would be able to do with his condition.

Eff then suddenly paused, lost in his own thoughts. Hey, wait a moment. What number was he on? 20? 30? Oh fuck, he lost count of his victims! Eff had grown rather tired, both physically and mentally, and wanted to just kill something. Perhaps he could recount another day. He already figured out quite a lot in one night after all.

Eff grinned in a way that would make anyone shudder with fear as he looked at the nearest poor soul. Taking the knife out of the bucket, he didn't even care about using his bad arm or not to do the deed, this victim was going to be tonight's coat of paint.

D-boy made his way back into the living room and slumped onto the couch, sinking into the cushioning a bit. He debated on doing the dishes, but decided against it. He had enough time to do them later; he had all the time in the world, really. It's not like he did anything. During this past week or so, that'd been the most he'd ever done in either of his lives. Otherwise, he just roamed aimlessly around the house, slept, and had the occasional argument with his counterpart. Hell, that time Mr. Eff brought him along to the movies was the very first time he'd ever been outside longer than five minutes, and they've been in these bodies for months.

What could he possibly even do? His only purpose here currently was to get Mr. Eff to return to the wall, but clearly that wasn't going to be happening any time soon. It really, really would've been easier to just end him that time when he was so vulnerable, but once again D-boy denied the very idea of it. It was just one time, it'd never happen again and he'd make sure of it. He could never bring himself to be so violent- so unfair. You wouldn't just toss the enemy's pieces away in a game of chess, would you? He was going to do this the right way and end it by talking, by being proper. There was no reason to lie to Mr. Eff when the truth was on his side. Lying never did him any good when he tried it, anyways. Especially considering the last time he tried to with Johnny, _that_ sure went well.

He lifted a hand and brushed his finger against the thin, long slit in the middle of his face. It was often covered by his hair, not very noticeable unless you paid good attention. The place where Johnny stabbed him on that fateful night. It was scabbed, but it always had been. This scar, along with the others ringed around his neck and arm socket, had never changed. They never hurt when any kind of pressure was put upon them, they never worsened, and they never healed. Perhaps it was because they weren't from this body, but his styrofoam one, and that somehow altered it? Whatever the reason, D-boy almost appreciated their existence on his form. They reminded him of that day. Ah, what a day that was indeed.

D-boy's eyes closed as the memory began to replay inside of his mind.

It started out like any ordinary night. Johnny had constructed some sort of device; he claimed it would shoot him once he spoke into the telephone, something idiotic like that. D-boy didn't really listen to it, he was sure the man was just trying to mock him again. Trying to sound so insightful as he spoke, but D-boy could see through that so-called confidence, he saw into that man, and he saw that he was scared. He was scared of what D-boy and his counterpart had done to him, and he was trying to make himself look like he didn't care anymore, like he'd no longer listen to either of them. The traditional bullshit.

At least, that's what it seemed like until it actually worked.

He remembered it oh, so clearly. He remembered being stuck to a wall by the large, cold knife embedded into his face. He remembered flailing around and yelling so loudly he could barely even hear Mr. Eff laughing at him, or the telephone ring. He remembered his counterpart's face when it happened. He remembered his scream. He remembered the gun go off.

In a mere second, their whole world changed, thanks to one simple bullet.

He... He'd never been so...

So _happy_!

The one thing he'd ever needed to get what he wanted and it happened, right then and there. And it made him happy. It made _him_ happy! He was so happy about it that he smiled as wide as his face would possibly let him, it was the most satisfying feeling he'd ever known. It wasn't even that Johnny had died, no, he couldn't care less about him at that point. It was that he knew he would be too, soon.

He wasn't bothered by the pain of the knife, knowing just how close they were to being real. He wasn't even bothered by those victims that escaped, or assumed such bullshit. He barely even listened to his counterpart's bursts of absolute rage or his feeble insults, none of that mattered anymore. All that mattered at that moment was that his Master escaped.

It was there, beneath the rumbling floorboards. Master had come. The wall had broken and Master had come to finally take his unnatural life away. He could feel as its tentacles swirled around him, swooping him up into itself and winding around his neck, tightening its grip against his useless styrofoam form, before it snapped at his limbs and everything went-

D-boy's eyes shot wide open as reality was poured upon him like a bucket of ice water. His one, fond memory dissipating from his thoughts as he heard the screams begin to erupt from the depths of the basement. He cringed as his current situation set in, and a low whimper escaped his lips. That single happy memory was just a memory, and nothing more. He was still here, and he would be until he took care of that other abomination of nature downstairs.

He shifted his legs up onto the seat and curled up on the couch, as uncomfortable as it was. No happiness for him. All he could do now was cover his ears, and pray for the screaming to end soon. The reminder that it would've been easier to just end him that time when he was so vulnerable crossed his mind, but once again D-boy denied the very idea of it.

Fortunately for D-boy the screams in the basement would not last as long as they would if Eff was uninjured. Being as wounded as he was, and with a possible fever, as mentioned earlier Eff, was only going to kill one man, who had just enough blood to fill the single bucket he brought with him.

Eff murdered this man violently, using the knife with his good arm and using his bad to keep this man still and to keep his balance. Eff wasn't as violent as he could have been, but he was still very much so. He enjoyed cutting open most victims and seeing vital organs fall out of their helpless bodies, but cutting his victims like this caused blood to spray and splatter. Which it did, and got all over Eff's- ... D-boy's shirt. The overall white fabric was now stained and littered with deep reds, which made Eff look even more terrifying now that he was covered in some poor man's blood.

Eff didn't mind it that much, as this has happened so many times before. His grin faded after the man had been killed and his blood had been drained into the bucket. Killing usually gave Eff a rush of excitement and joy; a thrill, if you will! But today it didn't seem to give as much as a rush as it would have. It was still enjoyable, indeed, but the ever aching agony from his shoulder cancelled out what would have given him complete bliss.

He glanced at his hurt shoulder, which was now covered and some man's blood, and frowned just a little. His shoulder wound was ruining a lot of life experiences for him! It was stopping him from killing as many people as he wanted, and enjoying the kill as well! Eff couldn't wait for this thing to heal and go away. He wanted to go back to how he was living before. Being limited by a stupid stab wound was quite annoying.

Eff was a little disappointed upon discovering he had to drop the knife and leave it so he could pick up the heavy bucket of blood. He might as well, if just to mark where he had stopped counting. While he used his good arm mainly to carry most of the blood's weight, he still had to support the bucket a little with his bad arm. Carrying this bucket with him down the maze-like hallways also slowed down his walking. Not only did the weight seem to slow him down, but being careful not to spill any precious paint was also taken into consideration.

When he finally made it to the wall's room again, he noticed that he felt quite warm. The basement's cool air only comforted his heated body for so long. Perhaps since he was working his body's temperatures had risen up even more. That would make sense.

Regardless, Eff tried to ignore the excessive heat his body was giving off. He put the bucket down on a closed wooden box near the wall, and grabbed a paintbrush. As he was about to dip the paintbrush into the 'paint', he paused. Painting the wall so slowly and delicately was not appealing to him at all. Especially in his condition. In fact, he'd rather...

Eff put down the brush and picked up the bucket once again. He stepped back from the wall and splashed all the blood from the bucket onto the wall with one movement. While this action required both hands, he tried to put the most strain on his good arm. Despite his efforts he did feel a bit of a tug on his stitches when he did this. Eff let out a breath, relieved he didn't have to deal with a heavy bucket of paint anymore, and even better, he had succeeded in adding the paint to the wall quickly. Well, as quickly as he could.

Eff could finally leave this damned basement and go back upstairs. He was leaving the room to head up the stairs when he noticed that he was dizzy. Eff paused, making sure he was balanced. Why was he dizzy? Maybe the horrible stench down here was finally getting to him? Eff couldn't really think of a reason for the dizziness so he made himself continue, wanting to ignore it and get upstairs as soon as possible.

He was only on his first flight of stairs when his body started to slow down significantly. It was rather difficult to pull his own weight up the stairs, especially when there was no railing to hold onto to himself help. His body also seemed to have heated up to almost unbearable temperatures, and the dizziness wasn't helping either. Still, Eff pushed himself up the stairs, wanting to get to the first floor on his own. But the dizziness seemed to have overwhelmed Eff and while he didn't fall down the stairs, he did trip and fall forwards onto the staircase and hit his good shoulder on an edge of a stair in front of him.

Eff cried out, mostly in surprise, but hissed as his other shoulder gave off an ache from the impact. That was close. Too close. What if he had hit his bad shoulder? What if he had fell back down the stairs? It was at this point Eff deemed himself unable to climb stairs on his own. Actually, Eff felt pretty horrible right now. He began to question if coming down here was a good idea in the first place. Despite wanting to go upstairs on his own, it was clear to him that he needed help.

"D... D-boy! D-boy, can you come down here?!" He called out. Out of all the things that seemed to be wrong with him, at least his voice seemed to work. Hopefully he wasn't too deep in the basement for D-boy to hear him. What if D-boy did hear him and didn't come to get him? Eff supposed he would have to just wait here until this dizziness went away, if his older counterpart didn't come to assist him, and try getting up the stairs on his own again.

After what seemed like forever, the screams finally stopped. It felt like the world had gone silent. D-boy hesitantly uncurled out of his position, sitting up properly and adjusting his hat, which had tipped off of his head slightly. He took a long, deep breath and blinked a couple of times. He really hadn't needed that ordeal, but he at least salvaged his mood in the fact that he was better off than the origin of the noise.

He wasn't quite sure what to do now. At least, not until he heard a loud thud from downstairs. What the Hell was Mr. Eff doing? Was he dragging the body around? D-boy would've thought so, if he hadn't of heard a shrill yelp along with the thud. He listened in closely, trying to figure it out, until he heard someone calling from downstairs. He would've supposed it was one of the victims, but he recognized his own nickname. Mr. Eff was calling him for help.

He debated responding to said call. Mr. Eff didn't deserve any help after what vile act he had committed, but that didn't appear to have stopped D-boy before. Still, blood was on his hands (quite literally, D-boy was sure) and he wouldn't have been in the situation anyway had he just stayed put upstairs and not betrayed Master by painting that horrid wall.

Though despite his reluctancy to help Mr. Eff, he had to admit there wasn't really anything else for him to do. Would it be better to not aid his ill-minded counterpart and have a fight when he finally got upstairs, or to lend him a hand and avoid that shit? D-boy really, really didn't feel like helping him right now. Just imagining the gruesome act was enough to spark a flare of anger inside of him, reminding him why the two always argued in the first place and why they detested each other so dearly.

But Mr. Eff seemed to have changed his mind about D-boy, at least that's what he said, but he had nothing else to go by. Surely he would've given up the ruse after their little 'encounter', so... so he had to be telling the truth, right? It was a hard conflict with him of all people. That and D-boy was in absolutely no mood for a fight at the time, even though he was sure he'd win, but it seemed the decision was made.

He grumbled as he got up from the uncomfortable couch and began walking out of the room, going down the hall and making his way to the area he was sure the younger one was. "Oh, for Christ's sake..." He hissed under his breath as he gazed upon the sight. On any other day he surely would've gotten a chuckle out of this, but under the current circumstances all he was at the time was annoyed. There Mr. Eff was, fallen in the middle of the staircase. Hopefully he had landed on his good arm; D-boy wasn't ready to stitch him up again. He sauntered down the steps to Mr. Eff, and loomed over top of him.

"I thought this was going to happen, I could feel it. You're lucky I even heard you." He stated, almost taunting him in a way. "You should've just stayed upstairs; it was a waste of time trying." Despite his vexed tone, he still proceeded to help the boy up, lifting him by his waist again and propping him against the wall on the step beside himself. He looked him over to check if he was alright, making sure the wound didn't open or anything, but everything appeared to be just fine. Well, except his shirt.

He huffed at this sight. The cinnamon and syrup was washable enough, but he really should've thought twice before letting Mr. Eff go downstairs knowing fully well what he was about to do, but he was too miffed for it to cross his mind. His once perfectly white and black t-shirt was stained, but this wasn't your usual stain, this was blood. Lots and lots of disgustingly dark red chunks of blood. It wasn't like the shirt had a special meaning to D-boy or some bullshit like that, but that was his shirt, and the thought of wearing something covered in such grotesque matter was nauseating. With how deep the stains were, he was positive they'd never come out, at least completely. Still he was sure Mr. Eff would need to swap it immediately, not that D-boy would let him say otherwise.

Eff was almost certain that D-boy was too stubborn to come downstairs to help him, but as he was about to attempt to pick himself up he heard an agitated 'Oh, for Christ's sake' above him. So his older counterpart did come to help him after all! Eff might've smiled if it wasn't for the nearly taunting dialog that slipped out of D-boy's lips.

After he was upright and being supported by leaning against the wall, Eff responded. "Y-yeah, I know-" He stopped himself for a moment. Did he just... _agree_ with D-boy? No, of course not! Of course painting the wall wasn't a waste of time. Painting the wall gave them MORE time to live and exist! Not that D-boy actually appreciated it. He'd rather have his stupid master burst through the wall and kill them both. Injured or not, Eff was still trying to make sure that didn't happen.

"I... uh..." He fumbled around with his words a little. This was not something he normally did. Usually he was really good about his words, and finding the right words to say, but feeling as hurt and ill as he did at the moment made it harder to think. "I... I probably should have rested more." He managed to add onto his response to make sure that D-boy didn't misinterpret it as an agreement to his bitter words.

Although, since he stuttered there might still be a chance that his counterpart would think he had agreed with him. Eff quickly changed the subject hoping that he didn't give D-boy enough time to actually think about how he utterly failed at speaking properly.

He suddenly grabbed D-boy's hand with his good hand, and gripped it tightly. "I just need help getting upstairs. I'm not feeling well..." He admitted with a frown. Usually after spending some time down in the basement Eff was giddy and grinning from the kills, but today he couldn't manage much of a smile. He was dizzy, hot, and in a whole lot of agony. Eff just wanted to get upstairs and lay down; maybe even close his eyes as well, if only to just stop the world from spinning.

D-boy was about to continue on why Mr. Eff should've stayed up there in the first place, before he spoke himself. D-boy was surprised. Did... did his counterpart, of all people, just agree with him? Sure it was brief, sure he stopped himself, but that was most certainly an agreement to his remark. He wouldn't have been as startled if it wasn't to a statement such as that. Still, that wasn't the oddest part. He was pausing, and he was stuttering. Mr. Eff _never_ stuttered, neither of them really did, they both were always so sure of what to say to the other. Then again, that was for arguing, this didn't appear to be.

The reasoning why, though, was evident as he continued his next sentences. Clearly he needed more help than D-boy thought, and it was no shocker as to why. Of course being in the basement for such a long time would affect his health like that, especially in his current state. The place absolutely reeked of decaying corpses and drying blood, the mere wooden walls showed their age indeed, and considering how far underneath the earth they were it came as no surprise at the possibility of dirt and grime leaking through, not to mention how many pests became 'roommates' along with it.

Mr. Eff was in absolutely no condition to be down in such a hazardous and notably revolting area, even if he was the main hazard itself. His fever was evidently rising and sweat was pouring down him as much as the blood he covered himself in. As cold as the basement was compared to the upper levels, it still was only boarded with simple wooden planks, insulating the warmth within the ground. His state wasn't the only thing to cause alarm, though. The mumbling and sweating was certainly one thing, but what began to earn D-boy's concern was a more simple detail. Mr. Eff was frowning again.

When he thought about it, when was the last time he frowned aside from short-lived annoyances? He always had a large, toothy grin plastered on his face or at least his signature smirk. But here he was, frowning, in front of D-boy no less. He wasn't even stopping himself. D-boy's own miserable expression began to dim into more of a worried look, and he placed his arm around his counterpart's back, avoiding the wounded shoulder as much as he could. "Alright, up we go then, okay?" He said, his bitter voice from before toning down slightly, and he readied the both of them to stand back up.

Eff was more than thankful when D-boy agreed to help him up the stairs. He couldn't really read D-boy's facial expression due to that dizziness, but he did catch a hint of worry in D-boy's voice.

It shouldn't be so surprising that his older counterpart was concerned about him, but it was. It was his fault that Eff was injured in the first place, and he knew that D-boy said he would help him until he got better, but having D-boy feel actually worried about him was quite odd. Well, not a bad kind of odd; perhaps 'unfamiliar' is a better word. They hate each other, so why would either of them ever be concerned about the other? Unless, they don't hate each other as much anymore.

Even though Eff's 'feelings' towards D-boy had been a lie, clearly it had a genuine effect on his counterpart. Maybe D-boy doesn't hate him as strongly, and as much as Eff wouldn't like to admit it, he had been questioning his own feelings towards D-boy as well. Yes, he hated him to bits and pieces. D-boy still dared to oppose Eff in his mission to keep their master at bay. ...But then there were moments like this one, where D-boy actually helped him, and even now he was showing concern. Eff wasn't quite sure how to feel or respond to such a thing, aside from a 'thank you', and being as sick as he was, he couldn't put much thought into it either.

He decided that he shouldn't react to this, or think about it. At least not right now. He wasn't in any shape to think clearly. Eff wrapped his good arm around D-boy for extra support as he was lifted back onto his feet. While it seemed like D-boy wouldn't bother the wound too badly, the movement did make Eff wince and take in a sharp breath. It was clear his shoulder wasn't happy at all, especially since it had moved around so much while Eff was in the basement.

"T-thanks." The pain in his shoulder was still making him stutter, but he thanked D-boy regardless of the fact that he had disturbed his wound. Eff knew he meant well and didn't do so on purpose. D-boy was helping him after all.

The trip up the stairs seemed slow, especially since Eff's body wasn't all too keen on the idea of working push itself upwards in his condition. Even with D-boy's assistance, the trip upstairs did put a strain on his body. Eff became dizzier and warmer. If he didn't have to keep track of his own feet, so he wouldn't miss a step, he would have closed his eyes by now.

They did manage to get up the stairs without any more accidents. It was a huge relief to be back upstairs as well. The air smelled so much more cleaner than it did downstairs, and though the first floor wasn't exactly a pretty sight it was better than staying in that horrible basement.

Eff's first thought when they made it back to the first floor was that he wanted to go lie down. He didn't care where, whether it be the couch or the bed. If it came to it, he'd even rest on the floor. His body was tired and aching and he did not want to stay upright and standing. "I want to go lay down." Eff expressed to his counterpart, hoping that D-boy will comply and help him get to either the couch or the bedroom.

D-boy was relieved that they made it back upstairs without any more accidents, but that wasn't as much of an achievement as he would've hoped. Mr. Eff's health had depleted greatly, his eyelids kept flickering and as they went upwards his walking speed became slower and slower. Both were silent all the way too, save for a stuttered 'thanks' on Mr. Eff's part. Still they were finally at the top and away from the depths of that putrid basement, and that's what mattered to D-boy.

He still had his arm wrapped around Mr. Eff when he spoke up, wanting to lie down. Well, of course. He looked like he would collapse any minute now; he didn't need to ask twice. D-boy nodded, and without a word he guided his counterpart's exhausted form through the hallways and towards the bedroom.

After entering, he simply sat Mr. Eff down upon the bed, leaving the blankets be. His fever was rising heavily, so the added warmth was certainly not something he'd need.

He stood there quietly, wondering if he should do anything, his earlier anger towards his counterpart diminishing quite a bit. He tinkered with the thought of a glass of water or something, but his eyes glanced down at his pocket, withholding the medicine. He shook his head and looked back at Mr. Eff. Sure he was in a bad condition, but they had to save that for the worst. Maybe it would be best to just get the glass of water and leave him be. But, perhaps...

"How are you feeling?" He asked, a simple and aggravatingly obvious question, but it would be better to get the answer from Mr. Eff himself rather than just pondering it.

It was a huge relief to be off of his feet. Eff was about to lay down, or rather collapse, on the bed when he heard D-boy break the silence between them with a question. If Eff wasn't as tired as he was, he might have taken that question the wrong way. It was more than obvious that he felt like crap, and yet D-boy had the nerve to ask. But, maybe the question was just another way that his counterpart was showing his concern. Not only that, but Eff didn't pick up any sort of sarcasm in D-boy's tone, so the question must have been asked genuinely.

It was still quite strange to not fight with D-boy after every sentence, or to be not offended with every syllable. Recently they were just talking and asking questions. Eff had to admit it was nice change from all the fighting and bickering, especially since he was as ill and injured as he was right now.

Though, Eff wasn't sure how descriptive he should be with his reply. D-boy asked knowing that Eff wasn't in any good condition. Couldn't he just see that Eff wasn't well? Well, of course he could _see_ it, but there wasn't any way D-boy could _feel_ it for himself. So that and a feeling of concern must have been D-boy's reason for asking such an obvious question.

"I... I'm hot, and dizzy, and tired, and my shoulder feels like shit..." Eff gave a short answer, just expressing what needed to be said. His reply was short and to the point, like most of his responses were, but unlike his usual replies there wasn't anything untrue in his words. There was no point to lie to D-boy about this. If he told him he was 'fine' that would have been the most obvious lie in existence, and if he told him he was 'dying', well, that wasn't exactly true either. Eff was in a good amount of pain, and felt absolutely horrible, but he wasn't really _dying_. He was sure that if he rested for a more proper amount of time, that he would feel better and would be able to go back to the basement and add more paint to the wall.

After giving his response, he carefully laid down on the bed, making sure not to disturb his wound. Even if he was tired, though, the pain in his shoulder would make it impossible for him to actually fall asleep. That didn't mean he couldn't close his eyes though. It didn't help with the persistent pain or boiling body temperature, but it sort of helped with the dizziness.

Of course he felt like shit, how else would he feel? _Giddy_? D-boy's apprehension on how idiotic the question was appeared to be true, but at least it seemed Mr. Eff had enough energy in him for it to be answered. So, with that came his other question. "Do you want any water? I don't even need to double-check to see your fever sky-rocketing." Granted, that was probably a dumb question too, but this one was actually worth the words.

Mr. Eff's face was as red as the blood he was covered in. D-boy really wanted to make him change shirts as the said blood was going to do anything but help, but it seemed he was far too tired to try and stand up again, much less raise his arms, so that was out of the question and would be for later. For now, he'd just need to stay down and rest some more, at least until he could form a sentence without stuttering.

Eff didn't bother to reopen his eyes when he heard D-boy's question. It was another question to just check up on him, wasn't it? Because his older counterpart seemed to be actually concerned. Water didn't sound like a bad idea, but Eff doubted his body would want to sit back up after finally laying down.

"Maybe later..." He muttered so D-boy would have some sort of reply. He then shifted onto his good side, trying to get more comfortable so he could rest and relax. But to be honest, there probably wasn't any kind of position that would be comfortable for Eff right now. Even with nothing touching his shoulder, it still gave off such terrible agony. That and his high fever were making it completely impossible to be relieved. Right now all Eff could do is wait for the pain in his shoulder to fade, or his fever to lower, so that somehow he will be able to drift into some semi-conscious state and rest. But until that happened, all Eff could do was try to rest and try to bear with the pain and heat.

He would have asked for a pain killer, since one would take the edge off of this pain and maybe lower his fever too. That would make it easier to rest, but he knew very well such a request would probably annoy his counterpart. D-boy had expressed how he didn't want him constantly whining for medicine before, and if Eff kept his mouth shut there was a chance of having more french toast in the future.


	8. Your Barrier Grows Thin

It had been a few weeks, maybe even a month, and D-boy found that not much had gotten better. Mr. Eff's wound never really healed, it only seemed to have gotten worse. Much worse. The couple tablets left of Aleve we're pretty much useless by this point, and D-boy guessed the wound must've gotten an infection of some sorts, though it really came as no surprise. He tried to resew it up again, but the stitches from before became encrusted into the flesh, resulting in them having to open up the wound once more. It was a bad idea to begin with as D-boy clearly wasn't medical-savvy and it just resulted in Mr. Eff losing even more blood, and for a whole week, he had been bedridden.

D-boy was standing beside him right now, looking over him gravely. He had been asleep since morning after another surge of pain from the injury, and the sky was already dark blue, lit with stars. He had become so weak, barely being able to walk without trudging or leaning against something. His once bright, crimson eyes had now dulled to a bleak, nearly lifeless vermillion. His skin had gotten so pale; you could practically compare it to his former styrofoam body.

Oh, weren't those the days? It was a very simple time indeed, and to think that during that time D-boy felt that life couldn't get any more complicated. That dealing with Johnny and fighting with Mr. Eff and Nailbunny was as hard as it could come by.

What a fucking _joke_.

All he was supposed to do here was to bring his counterpart back to the wall; that was it. He never asked for this, neither of them did. Why couldn't he just stay behind the wall with their Master, and they let Mr. Eff go? Was it so hard to do that? Was he really oh, so crucial that he couldn't just be left in this place to rot in his own time?

Apparently so. Because now, he wasn't left to rot in his own time, he was left to rot in D-boy's. Just one little slip of the mind was all it took, and they were left with this. D-boy wanted Mr. Eff to just die to begin with, but this really wasn't going as planned. This was slow and painful to both endure and watch. He wondered if it happened any earlier, would he be enjoying this? Enjoying his arch rival being put in his place, and having to go through such pain and misery?

As sick, twisted, disgusting, cruel, selfish, sadistic and _wrong_ as it was to say it... He was already enjoying it. Though not for those reasons. Over the time it'd been like this, with Mr. Eff so harshly weakened and D-boy so swamped with guilt... they were sapped of any energy to fight with each other. They could barely even argue about such pointless bullshit. All they could do now was just... talk. And he **enjoyed** it.

He thought back fondly to when Mr. Eff first confessed these feelings. Both of them so flustered that their faces were unbearably red, it was so childish. His mind quickly trailed to when they shared their thoughts on one another, and how easy it was to get D-boy to spill out his own feelings towards Mr. Eff after such a simple sentence.

'You know, by the way you just explained that to me, it sounds like you care about me, D-Boy.' And it all came crashing out of his system from there. It made him think. It made him wonder. He wasn't even aware of it before, but even back then, with Johnny and the rabbit, with their arguing, with their simple doll-like bodies and painted-on faces...

Ah, it was true, wasn't it? Even back then...

He loved Mr. Eff, didn't he?

As much as he would be pleased to continue to deny it as he had for so long, the answer was yes, indeed he did. Annoying and threatening as he was, D-boy cared about that boy. He was his counterpart, his partner. They were opposites, and that's just how he liked it. They balanced each other out. Mr. Eff's high hopes and eccentricity paired with D-boy's cautionary assurance and conventionality. Mania and depression, homicide and suicide, comedy and tragedy, didn't it just sound perfect?

It would've been, but as the fates of the world have decided, the opposites weren't meant to be in the same mindset. They were left like this.

And still, he _enjoyed_ it.

Because even if it was all boiling down so painfully and harshly, this was the closest they'd ever been. He was useful and helpful to the one that he had such deeply-rooted feelings for, who had them as well. It was like they had nothing left to fight about, though it felt like it'd be over soon. It should've been okay, them finally reaching the end and returning to the wall, but D-boy's disruptively selfish desires had overtaken him again, turning his definition of his own being around.

He didn't want it to end.

At first Eff was rather determined to stick with his idea of putting a bucket of blood on the wall each day. But as the days passed, his wound got worse, and the infection spread more and more. It seemed everything had gotten worse, actually. His fever persisted, he kept getting dizzy spells, and there were even surges of pain coming from his injury! Though, he still managed to go down to the basement every other day even then.

That is until D-boy tried to restitch him. At this point, Eff was sure that his older counterpart had only attempted to do so to try and help him get better. It was obvious his condition wasn't improving after all! But that night when they had to reopen the wound and rip out those stitches, that was the night Eff's determination broke.

First off, seeing his wound exposed was rather disgusting. It was red, puffy, sore and irritated, some parts were green, and the oozing puss was even enough to make Eff sick to his stomach. Sure he was used to seeing blood and organs and all of the sorts, but he had never seen an injury that was rotting and infected, and on his own shoulder nonetheless!

And due to the stitches being so deep in Eff's flesh, the removal of them was more than painful. That night was filled with nothing but agonized screaming and gushing blood. Eff had nearly collapsed and passed out during the process, and afterwards he was bedridden for a whole week.

All of that pain broke something inside Eff that had driven him to push himself to continue to paint the wall. After all that torment Eff stopped fake smiling. His urges to kill had seemingly disappeared.

Eff seemed to focus more on getting better rather than pushing himself and hurting himself even more just to get some blood on that one wall. He rarely wanted to get out of bed, and if he did he just wanted to go to the couch and watch TV.

Eff started eating less too, and he was even sleeping more. He didn't sleep because he wanted to though. He only slept because he body _needed_ the rest. But it really didn't matter how much Eff rested. He wasn't getting better, and Eff was quite aware of this fact.

And yet... it wasn't all bad. Of course, this injury was causing Eff all sort of misery and torment, but there was one thing that didn't seem so bad that came from all this. Just as Eff's condition was worsening, his relationship with D-boy seemed to improve. Neither of them had the will to fight with each other anymore, so all they did was talk. Even if it was about something they usually disagreed on, they would have an intellectual discussion instead of a heated debate. This allowed Eff to see a whole new side of D-boy, and though he still wouldn't admit it, he found himself actually liking his older counterpart more and more. He enjoyed the conversations they had, not only for the content and just the mere interaction with D-boy, but they also provided somewhat of distraction from his injury. Though, there wasn't much Eff could do to get away from the pain his shoulder caused now. Even the pills had stopped affecting it.

Other than talking with D-boy, the only other thing that sort of let Eff escape the pain was sleep. But with this amount of agony, sleep did not come easy for Eff, and when it did it was never really good sleep.

He could still feel how his shoulder ached in his sleep, and that usually kept him far from a deep enough slumber to dream. When he was able to dream though, it was only about horrible things. Ever since this injury Eff's dreams had been plagued by nightmares.

At first they were nightmares about obvious things he feared, like turning back into styrofoam spontaneously and having no power. Many times his nightmares made him relive the moment he was stabbed by D-boy. But most recently his nightmares revisited a rather different past event. Where a familiar gun shot was always heard and the ground always quaked as something fierce pushed its way up and through the basement. It was of the night where their master had reclaimed them.

Though he was styrofoam then, being reclaimed didn't really hurt physically, but it did take an emotional toll. Knowing that he lost his chance at being real before was probably the closest he had gotten to feeling anything back then.

But now, though there was no gun shot, the situation seemed so... similar. It was almost like his life was in a downward spiral, much like Nny's life was, and his subconscious was quite aware of that. What scared him the most was that now that he was human, his nightmares could reenact that one horrible night, and it would almost feel like the tentacles around his styrofoam body was tearing through the flesh of his real one. The nightmares always made him whine in his sleep. Sometimes he'd cry as well. But most of all, whenever he woke up, he always woke screaming, both in pain and fear.

Tonight was no different. Eff woke up suddenly, wailing in agony. It took several moments for him to calm down, and try to breathe in decent breaths and not cry. Though his cheeks were already wet though, either from sweat or tears.

"I... I-I just... it was just a nightmare..." He muttered, his voice stuttering still from the fear he had felt. Eff was speaking to D-boy of course. He didn't have to look to see if D-boy was there. Nowadays, D-boy was usually by his side. His older counterpart must have too much guilt to leave his side. Well, no, maybe it was more than just plain guilt now. Probably some sort of fondness was there too.

Eff shifted a little and moved his good arm to wipe away any tears that were possibly on his cheeks from the nightmares. It was at that moment that he noticed a particular numbness; not in his good arm, but his bad one. Indeed, he was aware that his other arm was getting weaker. During the times he was still trying to paint the wall was the most obvious. It was getting harder and harder for that arm to lift things, and grab thing, even if they weren't that heavy.

Eff wasn't too bothered about it before, since he could still move it, but now... He tried to move that arm, and while his shoulder twitched his arm gave no response at all. Eff felt his heart drop to the pits of his stomach. He forced himself to sit up a little and tried again. His arm simply wouldn't move. While Eff had never told D-boy about his nightmares, this was something that he had to inform D-boy about. His arm wasn't simply asleep or something like that. No, this was a different kind of numbness. It wasn't that static prickling feeling. It was just numb. There was a dull ache of pain, but other than that it was numb and_ it wasn't moving_.

"D-boy I... I can't..." Eff felt almost nauseated finding out about this, and it the shock was making it hard for him to form a proper sentence. "I can't move my arm!" He forced out the words, raising his voice in alarm. He grabbed his bad arm with his good one as if to confirm it. Eff could barely feel his hand on his bad arm. "Why can't I move my arm, D-boy? What's wrong with it?!" He questioned frantically. He felt himself start to panic. Tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes, and the fear and shock made his already pale skin on his face look even paler.

Something that freaked Eff out quite a bit was the fact that the numbness reminded him of what it was like to be styrofoam again. Styrofoam couldn't feel or move, and his arm had barely any feeling in it and it wasn't moving at all. Eff needed that arm, even if it was weakened, it was still being used. Though he had stopped going down to the basement every other day or so, Eff made a trip down there at least once a week, just to put his mind at ease. And in this condition Eff knew very well that he wouldn't be able to paint the wall after this. Losing this arm was like losing the only chance he had at continuing his life- no, it was more important than that now! Eff was losing the battle at prolonging not only his own life, but D-boy's as well. It was no wonder was Eff was in such distress

D-boy's mind swirled around the very idea. Love. What a strange thing to come of out a once inanimate object, one that stood for all of depression and self-inflicted death. He barely thought he could feel happiness, much less love, but love wasn't an emotion. It was a whole other thing that conjured these emotions, and somehow he let himself fall prey to it. He was a weakling, and it appeared it had weakened him more, doing all this nonsense for the 'object' of his desires. How pitiful indeed, but he couldn't have defended himself against something he never even saw coming.

He could call it whatever he wanted: idiotic, useless, contemptible, the list ran on and on, but he couldn't really help himself. His counterpart simply had this certain spark to him, a bright spark that caught D-boy's attention and lead him into it like that of insect towards a flame. He wondered if Mr. Eff felt anything similar, or maybe his attraction was simpler. Did he feel the same? That much intensity, or was it just a concept he delved more into?

It didn't matter; it'd be fine either way to D-boy. As much as he almost missed the rush of a heated argument, just conversing with him was enough. It was satisfying, these small chats they had. So insignificant, yet pulling them closer, as if it was a big deal. He supposed it was just the little things he was learning about the other, and that just made this 'love' thing grow inside of him more, feeding off of these rare good feelings like a parasite and fuelling the emotions towards Mr. Eff like an endless cycle.

Unfortunately for him, though, his scarce good mood was quickly shattered yet again by a sudden start from the said love interest. He snapped out of his dazed look at the sound of Mr. Eff crying out in pain on the bed in front of him, gasping for breaths until he managed to calm himself down, or at least as much as he could, mumbling something about another nightmare. D-boy simmered down a bit himself, obviously startled by the sudden shock, only over one of the bad dreams.

He had attempted to pry at Mr. Eff for information on said dreams, seeing how much dismay and panic they caused him concerned the older one greatly, but he never got any answers aside from vague remarks on it. He wondered what dreams were like, and why Mr. Eff's felt so terrible, and on occasion what looked to be painful. He himself was yet to have a dream of his own, nothing but nothingness whenever he closed his eyes. He didn't mind at all of course, but he had to admit that curiosity was beginning to get the better of him.

He glanced at Mr. Eff again, puzzled by what he was seeing, he was just wiggling about and staring at his injured arm. Did he need help up again? He didn't seem to be asking for it, though. He wondered if his arm was hurting still, though he seemed more worried than in pain.

'D-boy I... I can't...' he whimpered. Can't...? Can't what? 'I can't move my arm!' His voice was shrill and alarming, and his panic from before appeared to return even worse. He started to become frantic, questioning D-boy and grabbing his own arm, a look of dread quickly forming onto his face. D-boy inched closer to him, to check on the issue himself, and placed a hand on Mr. Eff's good shoulder to try and keep him grounded.

"Now let's be rational about this, okay? You've been in bed for a week; of course your arm is going to be a bit numb!" He stated, attempting to reassure his alarmed counterpart. This was getting out of hand fast, as D-boy noticed Mr. Eff was already on the brink of crying, with tears welling up in his eyes. D-boy's eyebrows furrowed and he spoke loudly in his usual stern voice. "Just _calm down_, okay?"

Just... calm down? Was that all D-boy had to say? How could Eff be calm at a time like this?! Clearly his older counterpart didn't understand how dire their current situation was.

Eff also misunderstood why D-boy was holding him still, and frankly he didn't want to be held still. Even though D-boy wasn't really putting that much pressure on his good shoulder, in his current state Eff couldn't help but to feel a little threatened. His past nightmares didn't help with this situation either.

"No, D-boy you don't understand!" Eff continued in his raised voice. He almost seemed irritated with D-boy. "My arm isn't just numb, _it won't move_!" At this point tears began to spill out of the corners of his eyes and onto his cheeks. He struggled a little against D-boy's grasp, but to be honest, in his current condition it didn't do much at all. D-boy could lightly hold him there against his will all day if he wanted to.

Knowing his struggles didn't do much, he gave up on trying to get free and spoke again. "D-don't you know what that _means_?!" He stuttered a little as he continued. Eff's emotions were clearly getting the best of him. "I can't paint the wall with one arm! I can't kill to get any more blood! The wall will break and we'll DIE!" His voice rose even further at the end of his last sentence, and the stress and worry in his voice caused it to crack as well.

Eff started to tremble, perhaps out of fear, and perhaps that fear was overwhelming him. Out of all the things he was afraid of, he was afraid of their master breaking free and reclaiming them again the most.

"Why won't my arm move?! It NEEDS to! I don't want to leave!" It almost seemed Eff couldn't stop talking if he tried, and the more he spoke the more quick and panicked he sounded. "What if I have to lose this arm?! What if I'M TURNING BACK TO STYROFOAM! WHAT IF I'M _DYING_!" The realization that he might be dying affected Eff for the worse. "Nononononono! I can't DIE! IDON'TWANTTODIE!" It was almost hard to understand him now, since his words were starting to fuse together.

While he was getting more frantic, he started to cry more. Eff's breathing was far from being normal too, and his heart was beating so hard it felt like it could burst out of his chest at any moment.

Eff then sobbed and screeched loudly, starting to repeat himself with several 'no's, 'this can't happen's, and 'i don't want to die's, and it didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon.

D-boy soon realized he probably didn't pick the best choice of words when Mr. Eff kept going, worrying him even further. Was it really this bad? Was his arm honestly not moving _at all_? Just a bad wake up didn't seem to be the case any longer when Mr. Eff's tears began to flow. D-boy loosened his unintentionally tight grip on the boy as he began to struggle, continuing on about the ordeal, his voice growing unsteady with each word. 'D-don't you know what that _means_?!' D-boy noticed he was stuttering now. 'I can't paint the wall with one arm! I can't kill to get any more blood! The wall will break and we'll DIE!'

He flinched at the last word, Mr. Eff's voice heightened to an ear-splitting level. D-boy felt him trembling underneath his fingers and his sobs continued, the boy was a wreck. He wasn't just worried about him now, he was downright distressed. He'd seen Mr. Eff lose his cool a few times, but he'd _never_ seen him like **this**. He was getting so scared and D-boy didn't know what to do, he'd handled these situations before but he was only there to edge them on into the vortex of insanity, not help them out of it! This was entirely out of his league! He had no clue what to say, how to relax his counterpart, all he could do was watch as he went into hysterics. It was to the point of his words clashing together that D-boy could barely make them out, and it was frightening him as Mr. Eff rambled on.

This was just... devastating to watch. Mr. Eff was always the calm and collected of the two, even when he was excited. D-boy was the 'loud one who got upset', not him. Seeing him in this way was painful, he never knew how terrified his counterpart was of their situation. How terrified he was of Master. How terrified he was of _death_. Each time D-boy told Mr. Eff to give up and give into their Master- to just go back into the wall- flashed in his mind, and the familiar feeling of guilt and shame rose up unbearably strong inside of him, leaving a terrible ache in his chest as his heartbeat sped up even more.

Is this what he did to Mr. Eff? Is this how he felt? He always brushed it off so easily and went about his day, ruthlessly taking other's lives; did that heighten his fear with how easily they were taken away? Maybe he was more self-aware than D-boy and his Master thought. Having these fears so deeply-rooted, especially with the encounter after Johnny's death, it was a shock to see him not as miserable as D-boy himself.

Were these feelings always there, hidden? Did he strive for a happy life so desperately that he'd actually hide such facts? D-boy wasn't sure, but he was going to find out. Right now.

"Mr. Eff, look, I..." He tried to speak up, but his counterpart's raving didn't appear to be done yet, he was filled with such trepidation that it looked like he couldn't stop himself. "I know it's hard to calm down like this, I know I put that wrong, but..." He wouldn't quit, and it seemed he couldn't hear D-boy over himself. He was so frantic at the moment. Well, that was fine; D-boy wasn't good at being quiet, anyways.

He lifted his hand off Mr. Eff's shoulder, and raised it near his face. He pulled back, and with a swift motion, the loud 'whack' noise was heard. "MR. FUCK, GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF!"

Whether D-boy was talking or not, Eff couldn't hear his counterpart over his own frantic and panicked ramblings and sobs. This went on for several minutes, until finally... "IDON'TWANTTODIELIKETHISIDON'T-"

_**WHACK**_!

Eff's head moved along with the slap, moving to one side. His hysterical words were stopped suddenly, in mid-sentence. Stunned, even Eff's sobs had stopped for a few moments.

Eff felt a small sting on his cheek, and he slowly raised his good hand to it, touching it gently. His cheek stung a little, but the stinging was nothing compared to what pain his injured shoulder was capable of.

He looked at his older counterpart; his eyes wide with shock and confusion and fear. But he didn't say anything. In fact, Eff bit his bottom lip, as if to prevent himself from speaking. Perhaps he was afraid that if he tried to say something or remark about what had just happened, only loud frantic words would come out.

The only noise Eff made now was quiet sobs and whines. He was still trembling too, but at least he wasn't screeching, and screaming anymore. It was apparent to Eff that D-boy wanted his attention for some reason, and now his counterpart had it. Instead of asking what D-boy wanted or why he had slapped him, he simply waited for him to speak and explain himself.

After the strike the room went quiet, the only sound being Mr. Eff's whimpering as he stared up at D-boy, eyes wide, either from shock or from fear. Both reactions not to D-boy's liking, he almost wanted him to retort to it in an offended manner, just so he'd be back in his normal state of mind. Still he paused himself and waited, until he was sure that the other was finished his ramblings.

"I'm sorry I had to do that." He spoke, his voice softer than before but far from lax. "But, well, you can probably guess why I did. You were becoming incoherent and hysterical. It was..." He gulped. He still wasn't used to confessing such an embarrassing emotion, even if his human form made these things more evident than they needed to be. But he had to express it this time, they needed to talk. "... It was scaring me. I've never seen you like that, ever, and I want to know what brought it up. These days have been hard on you, but I've seen you get through so many things, either from other circumstances or just from me. It isn't like you to just crack like that, so I want to know what's going on in that head of yours that's usually so good at keeping that sordid grin on your face."

He kneeled down beside the bed so that he was eye-level with Mr. Eff, his expression free of the earlier-stated fear and replaced with serious intent. He was concerned for his younger counterpart, and he let it show. "I don't want to argue about the subject anymore, I want to discuss it. Why are you so afraid of the end?"

Eff quietly listened to D-boy. It was a nice gesture for his counterpart to apologize for slapping him, even though he seemed like he had a good reason to. Eff was aware that he had let his fear and emotions overwhelm him, and if it wasn't for D-boy he wasn't sure if he would have stopped.

Something that was surprising to hear though was that his older counterpart confessed that he was scared. They rarely told each other about embarrassing emotions, or at least they used to not tell them very often. Recently they seemed to be opening up to each other more, and the way D-boy admitted how he was scared was a perfect example. It was also true that Eff had never broken down like that before. He was usually so strong willed and was able to brush off bad emotions and worries away like it was nothing. But that was when he didn't have a deep stab wound in his shoulder, and when such things could be easily ignored.

Eff was a little concerned himself when D-boy brought up a subject they usually fought about. The 'end' is what D-boy called it often. Or 'returning to the wall'. Eff realized that while he had argued about this several times and tried to make life look so much better than death, that he had never actually expressed his fear of it. It was more than apparent that he was deathly afraid of ending, due to his recent breakdown.

Eff opened his mouth to try and speak. "I..." He only managed a single word before he stopped himself, and swallowed back the urge to sob. Eff was doing his best not to go back into his hysterical state and talk as calmly as he could with D-boy. He almost wanted to ask why D-boy wasn't afraid, but he didn't want to say anything that might invoke an argument. It would be best if he just tried to answer D-boy's question.

"I'm afraid because..." He paused again, trying to get the right words. "... b-because the end is just... the end. Not existing is terrifying because there's nothing, but nothing!" He realized that this might sound stupid, but that was the best he could possibly describe death. "There's nothing for you to experience after you die. No joys. No pains. No excitement. Not even any depression! It's just... nothing and... I don't want to be nothing, D-boy! I'd rather be _something_. I like to live! Even if I have to paint a dumb wall with blood and stay in a shitty house, I enjoy my existence. And I... I don't want something I wanted for so long to just... disappear because of one stab wound! Or because I can't paint the wall! I... I want my life to keep going. I don't want it to end..."

Tears started to build up in his eyes again. He bit his lip and gripped the bed sheets with his good hand, as he felt another urge to burst into tears. Closing his eyes he took in a deep breath trying to keep his emotions from overwhelming him again.

"And lately," Eff continued, "it feels like it's going to end. Soon. D-boy, I'm not stupid. Me barely being able to move off the bed and... now I can't move my arm... I'm going to die soon, and there's no way I can fight back. I'm just going to get worse and worse and... eventually I'll die..." He couldn't hold back his tears anymore, and some quiet sobs started to slip between his words. "I'm fucking _terrified_..."

D-boy stood patiently, holding in his own inner gripes to listen to what Mr. Eff had to say without starting an argument. He was silent as his counterpart expressed himself, explaining his woes and terrors on the subject of death. To him, it really just sounded like the same reasons spilt from the mouths of most being replicated and repeated by another, the identical thought process being packaged and sent off to the majority of sentient beings' minds, but that's when a thought dawned upon him.

Unlike the humans, who were merely born and placed upon this land without a care, Mr. Eff was created as an object. An object that was given the ability to be self-aware, and was fully indulged in it. While everyone else was moving and breathing and living their worthless little lives away, Mr. Eff was spending his fighting for the very right just to have these senses, just to have a life itself. His blind optimism wasn't ignorance like D-boy thought, it was defense. He refused anything to get in his way, anything to stop him from gaining the life that he desired, and he didn't give up once.

This was it. This was what D-boy admired him so long for. This sheer perseverance towards his goal, despite everything telling him to halt and turn back. Mr. Eff wanted this life, even with all of its downfalls and hardships, and he wasn't going to let them get him down.

Until now.

Now he nearly was a corpse. He was rendered immobile, with agonizing pain each day, and it was to no surprise that he reacted in such a way. The one goal he had, he reached, and it was so quickly taken from him by the one who'd been hurting him most his whole life. The infection was spreading, and he would no longer be able to paint the wall. Neither of them could deny it: He was going to die.

This was what D-boy wanted for so long, he was so close to returning to his Master and dissolving away into the abyss, but this realization of his counterpart twisted things around so much. He knew how it felt to have your wish torn apart and destroyed. That was what he dealt with every day, simply by existing. He didn't want to exist. He didn't want to feel or think or breathe, but he was and it had taken its toll on him tremendously over the years.

He wanted it all to end so desperately, right here, right now, at all times of his life, but... Now he had another wish as well. He wanted his counterpart to live, at least a little longer, and enjoy that time as much as he could. He couldn't believe he was allowing himself to think this; his self only a few months back would rip him apart for it, but...

But... He was willing to sacrifice his only desire for Mr. Eff. The voice that spoke of melancholy and death was going to make sure this boy got what he strived for and deserved.

"No, Mr. Eff, you're _not_ going to die soon." He stated firmly, his words as sturdy as stone. He looked his counterpart right in the eyes, and clasped his hands around the other's. "Because we're getting up right now, and we're taking you to a hospital."

There was another pause of silence between them. Perhaps D-boy was thinking of how to respond, though Eff was sure his older counterpart hated every single word he just said. D-boy was all for death after all! It was no wonder why Eff started to doubt D-boy's level of concern for him. If he died, then D-boy could just kill himself and die too. Everything would end for them if Eff died. Isn't that what his counterpart always wanted anyways?

Whether it was moments or minutes, the silence seemed to be painfully dragged out, and all Eff really did was let out small sobs while he waited for D-boy to speak. Then he finally heard his voice again.

'No, Mr. Eff, you're _not_ going to die soon.'

Out of all the responses Eff would think D-boy would make, he never thought he would hear something like this come out of his counterpart's mouth. It was enough to make him look D-boy in the eye and scan for any signs of deceit. D-boy then looked right back at him. He felt a hand on his good one. Honestly, that sort of contact was comforting.

'Because we're getting up right now, and we're taking you to a hospital.'

Eff was certain now. D-boy was being completely honest. There were no nervous glances, stutters or anything that would hint that he was lying at all. So, D-boy did actually listen to him about his fears, and even more so he didn't argue about how being terrified of the end was wrong or whatever. This made Eff a little more trust in D-boy, but he was a little worried however.

Eff only had a vague idea of what a hospital was. It was just some place that humans go to when they're really injured or ill right? Nny never went to one, even if he hurt himself. Eff supposed the boy had some sort of fear for the hospital for whatever reason. Eff was both injured and ill, but still, he was nervous about going to a place he never been before. He was even more nervous about something else, though.

"D-boy, if I leave, who is going to..." He paused for a moment, knowing D- boy might hate him for being concerned about this. "...take care of the wall?" He asked quietly, almost whispering, as if a quiet voice would help in not provoking a fight or argument.

"And... how are we going to get to the hospital?" Eff decided to ask another question as well, since it was another thing that came to his mind. They certainly couldn't walk to the hospital, that's for sure. Eff wasn't in any shape to walk far distances. Eff wasn't in the best of conditions to drive either. He was too weak and only had one working arm. Eff was also sure that D-boy had no idea of how to drive, so any means of going to the hospital seemed almost impossible.

D-boy's stomach stirred uneasily at the first question. It wasn't so much that he was offended or angered by it (although, he had to admit he was), but that he was already nervous that it would come up. He wanted to think up other solutions, skip to the next question even, but he knew he couldn't avoid something like this.

It was a heavy burden, but he already knew what the only option was.

"... I'll paint it." He whispered, if he was anymore quiet he would've been silent. There was a forlorn tone to his voice, through only the three words you could practically feel the disgust he had for even thinking this. He didn't want to do it, not at all. As if betraying his Master wasn't a sickening enough act alone, going anywhere near the grotesque red bodily fluids would be the thing to set him off. Most of his shirt was already covered in the dried liquid from the time he leant it to Mr. Eff, and that was all he needed to know how horrified he was of it. It wasn't even the blood so much, as it was thinking about the act that earned it at all, but he knew that if he wanted Mr. Eff to truly heal, he couldn't stay in such a germ-infested cesspool of a house to do so. There would only be him left.

"And to get to the hospital is easy, we just call an ambulance." He continued, slightly louder than before. "I hope I can get you to a move a bit, though, because we'll have to call them from another place. Just because you're able to get away with murder, doesn't mean they won't notice a house full of rotting corpses." He knew the chance of Mr. Eff walking in this state was between minimal and no-fucking-chance-at-all, but it was worth a shot, and at the least D-boy would carry him. He wasn't so keen on leaving as quickly as he wanted to, though, now that he knew what he was left with.

Eff was sure that he had angered D-boy this time. There seemed to be a pattern of silence between them. Each passing moment of quiet was almost unbearable. Eff was about to speak up himself just to break the silence, and to tell D-boy to just forget about the wall. Mentioning it was obviously a mistake; a huge mistake, but then D-boy whispered something. If Eff hadn't been listening for it, he probably wouldn't have heard it.

'... I'll paint it.'

It was obvious that D-boy didn't want to paint the wall, due to the tone of voice—or whisper he had, but this was the most surprising thing that Eff had ever heard come out of his counterpart's mouth. It was a huge surprise, really. The last time he had asked D-boy to help him with the wall he had only gotten a bitter response: 'I'll help you with anything else, but I will never, ever, under any circumstances, help you with _that_. If you want that task done, you're going to have to do it yourself. I refuse to disgrace our Master in such a way.' Eff remembered those words quite clearly. He was curious as to why D-boy would agree to it now. Was the guilt too much for him? Had they gotten close enough to the point where D-boy was willing to help him? The first option seemed most likely. Or perhaps it was a mixture of the two.

D-boy had said that Eff wasn't going to die, and he must be pretty determined to stick to his word. After all, if Eff went to the hospital to recover, then D-boy would be the only one at the house that could take care of the wall. And if D-boy wanted to stick to his word, whether Eff asked for his help or not, he would have to paint the wall to prevent their master from coming through. If he didn't Eff would come home after recovering and die by their master's hand—or tentacles. And in which case, sending him to the hospital would have been pointless anyways.

Eff's thoughts paused when D-boy brought up how easy and simple it was to get to the hospital. Eff was surprised that he hadn't thought of thinking of calling an ambulance in the first place, but D-boy did bring up a vital point. They couldn't call one from their current location. This house reeked of dead and rot. Blood stained the walls and floors of even the first floor. Surely if anyone were to waltz into this lovely house, they would notice that it belonged to a mass murderer.

"I could try to walk." Eff finally replied. Yeah. _Try_. If Eff was going to even attempt to, he was going to need a ton of support. "But if I can't, you should probably carry me." Eff suggested. He himself was thinking realistically, and most likely he was going to end up on his face if he tried to walk. Being carried, while it might be difficult for D-boy to do, was probably the better option for them both. Still, Eff would try to walk since D-boy asked him to. Maybe there was a small chance he could manage if the distance wasn't too far. Where were they going to go anyways? Eff hoped that D-boy had a nearby place in mind.

But before they left he had to bring up something else. This was something that couldn't be left unsaid or forgotten, and he had to let D-boy know how much he appreciated it.

"D-boy?" He spoke up again. "I... I want to thank you for agreeing to paint the wall." Eff would have doubted D-boy, but so far he has kept all of his promises. It wouldn't hurt to trust his older counterpart for once. "I mean, I know how hard it will be for you to... go against your master and all." He spoke quietly, only pausing to make sure the right words came out of his mouth, and that they came out sincerely. "And that's why I'm really glad that you're helping me. I can't possibly repay you by just giving thanks, though..."

Eff paused to think again. He really wanted to show his gratitude, but how? How could he possibly return the favor? What was something D-boy would want? Was there anything D-boy would appreciate as much as Eff appreciated his own chance at life? Well, with a little thought, one obvious thing came to mind.

"So... I wouldn't mind if after you put on a thick coat of paint—and please do try to make it thick, if you decided to kill yourself." Eff figured if D-boy kept his promise, and if he did give the wall a fresh layer of blood, that would probably buy him enough time to get better in the hospital, and he might return before their master breaks through and continue painting.

As much as Eff would like D-boy to stick around, especially after how close they've gotten, he knew that D-boy only wanted his own life to end, and he has wanted it to end for quite a while. So in that perspective that was probably the greatest 'gift' Eff could possibly 'give' to D-boy.

"O-or maybe after I come back, I can kill you—if you want me to, of course..." Eff added, trying to prevent his voice from shaking with emotion. Yes, Eff was sad to offer this, and yes, he would be sad to have D-boy leave after they've bonded so much this month. He was even willing to admit that he did develop rather affectionate feelings towards his older counterpart now.

A life—an existence, with D-boy didn't sound too bad at all, but Eff knew that D-boy was rather fond of his master. So would he be able to live with himself after going against him, painting the wall, and betraying him? Eff wasn't sure, but this is why he even brought this up.

D-boy nodded as Mr. Eff replied, and readied himself to help support the other, though the stakes were high on him just being carried so they wouldn't have to go through too much trouble. At least he was expectant on the chances of getting to a phone; Johnny always went over to that little boy's place without any issues. What was his name? Squawk? Squeal? Whatever, they'd find out soon enough, despite D-boy's reluctancy.

D-boy was about to get Mr. Eff up, until he spoke again.

'I... I want to thank you for agreeing to paint the wall.' He paused. He wasn't really expecting a thank you, but he didn't realize how much he'd appreciate one. 'I mean, I know how hard it will be for you to... go against your Master and all.' He was continuing, too? D-boy listened closely. Did he really know how hard it was to defy his Master? Even the slightest bit? No, certainly not, but the fact that he actually acknowledged that it hurt meant a lot to D- boy. This was going to be a harsh task. 'And that's why I'm really glad that you're helping me. I can't possibly repay you by just giving thanks, though...' This was even less expected, but what else could he give? There was no object for D-boy to covet, no interest for him to have satisfied. He appreciated the gesture, and Mr. Eff's supposed sincerity on such a subject was welcomed greatly, but the only thing he wanted was- 'So... I wouldn't mind if after you put on a thick coat of paint- and please do try to make it thick, if you decided to kill yourself.'

D-boy blinked a few times, registering and confirming what Mr. Eff just said. Was he... genuine on this...? He'd really let him go, just like that? What about all the ranting and arguing over it? What about his worry about being left alone? It was not expected at all, he could hardly believe it. Despite all this, Mr. Eff would let him finally go through with it...? He wasn't upset by it, no, not at all! For once he was far from upset, actually. He never thought he'd hear such a pleasant surprise to come from his counterpart, he was astonished. He was often prevented, but if he went through with this heinous act, he'd be done for and could end it!

'O-or maybe after I come back, I can kill you- if you want me to, of course...' He even chuckled at this, that was a fine offer as well, and would certainly even out what he did to Mr. Eff. He was just so pleased to hear this- especially from him, he couldn't even have imagined this day to come. They'd be able to go their separate ways, and they'd both finally have what they've wanted all along. He bit his lip and nodded again, attempting to resist the tears that were welling up in his own eyes. They weren't tears brought up from resentment, anger, or even sorrow. No, they were tears out of happiness. He... He was happy.

"Thank you, Mr. Eff..." He replied gently, as for the first time in this human body, the faint sign of a smile formed upon his black lips.

Eff patiently waited for a response from his counterpart. Though he may be sad to let D-boy go, he knew that there was nothing else in the world he could possibly want. He quietly watched D-boy's expressions. The older man bit his lip and nodded. It looked like he was about to cry, actually. Wait, D-boy was going cry? No! Sadness was the opposite of what Eff wanted to give D-boy with his offer! He was about to apologize, but then D-boy thanked him. This confused Eff even more, and he stopped himself from speaking for the moment. If D-boy was thanking him, then why was he about to cry?

But this confusion soon disappeared, as Eff saw something he thought he would never see in a lifetime. The corners of D-boy's black lips tugged upwards on his mouth. It was faint, but Eff knew a smile when he saw one. Even if it was small, it was still a smile! Seeing this brought a smile of his own to his face. This was the first time Eff had smiled in about a month. Despite all of the pain he was in, it was absolutely glorious to see his counterpart smile! It gave him an oddly satisfying feeling; even his stomach seemed to churn with joy.

Did this mean that D-boy was happy? Well, why else would he smile? D-boy was happy that Eff was going to let him die. This was something Eff had tried to accomplish ever since he and D-boy became real; to make D-boy happy. Even though it was the allowance of suicide that pulled the emotion out of D-boy, Eff was overjoyed to see his older counterpart feel it!

"You don't need to thank me, D-boy. That little smile of yours is thanks enough." Eff replied, his own smile growing into a grin. Oh, it hurt to smile like this, but Eff couldn't help himself.

"Though I do admit, a frown suits you better." He suddenly added. It was true! Even though Eff had worked so hard to get D-boy to smile and feel happy for once, a smile looked rather odd on the older man's features. Maybe Eff was just used to seeing that scowl of D-boy's, but a frown looked so much better on him.

"Uh, not that I mind your smile! I-I mean..." He stuttered, noticing how his words could possibly be taken the wrong way. Why didn't Eff think before he spoke?! Oh gosh, he hoped he hadn't insulted his counterpart unintentionally. Not after he made him happy. That would be horrible. Surely his face would have grown red with embarrassment if it wasn't already red from his fever.

He quickly tried to save his own words. "You just... look better with a frown, is all..." He nervously spoke, trying to be careful of what he said. He felt rather dumb at the moment, feeling like he might've ruined D-boy's mood as soon as it was perked up.

D-boy was surprised to see his counterpart smile, though it looked like it took a lot to manage it. This must've meant it was a truthful one, as he hadn't smiled in what felt like forever. It really changed the tone of his current appearance, with all he had been going through, and D-boy was pleased to find that it was with this scenario that managed to bring it back. He was equally surprised when Mr. Eff pointed out his own smile. When he thought about it, he couldn't quite recall that expression on his face a single time throughout being a human. He hadn't even noticed it when it appeared, though upon hearing 'a frown suits you better' from Mr. Eff of all people, he could feel it grow much wider.

He didn't think he'd ever hear that. He didn't even know he wanted to, but somehow that small remark nearly brought his happiness up as much as the knowledge of his imminent demise. Since the day they became human, the two had been trifling over the other's emotions, arguing in desperate attempts to win the other over to their side, to make them feel like themselves. But now, it felt like none of that mattered anymore. They've learned a lot about each other over the past weeks, and here, at this very moment, D-boy almost didn't regret attacking Mr. Eff that time. Mr. Eff had felt misery and despair, now D-boy was feeling exhilaration and contentment. He was going to get what he wanted, and so was his counterpart. It almost felt like it was worth it, but he wouldn't believe so until they got an A-OK from the hospital. He refused their desires to get swapped in situations. Mr. Eff went through enough pain to have finally earned it back, even if it did mean he was going to go back to doing the same old routine...

It wouldn't matter to D-boy any longer, though, as he'd finally be gone.

He was so caught up in his thoughts; he almost didn't notice Mr. Eff speaking again.

'Uh, not that I mind your smile! I- I mean...' He was stuttering again, too. Was it out of pain, or nervousness? 'You just... look better with a frown, is all...'

D-boy actually laughed at this. "It's fine, Mr. Eff. In fact, it's more than fine. I'm honestly... delighted to hear that. A frown doesn't suit you in the slightest, if I may declare. No, the thing that reflects you is that shit-eating grin of yours, so keep that." He assured his counterpart, and his smile then returned to his commonplace frown.

"There, better?" He asked jokingly. Despite his regular expression once again on his features, it wasn't hidden that he was still quite gleeful, at least for the time being.

Eff wasn't sure whether to be relieved or insulted when he heard D-boy's laughter, but after his counterpart spoke, the words in his dialog told Eff that there was nothing insulting about this laugh. It was a laugh either from amusement or happiness or some combination of the two.

His own grin grew wide, even though it was painful to spread his mouth in such a way, at D-boy's own compliment towards him. Of course a frown didn't suit Eff! Just about anything else would suit him better than an idiotic frown. His 'shit-eating' grin (assuming that 'shit-eating' wasn't an insulting remark) did suit him better, indeed!

Eff then saw D-boy frown again, but this frown didn't seem to express any sort of sadness. It seemed to be like a 'happy' frown, if ever a thing did exist. Either way, it looked much better on D-boy's face, and suited him as well as Eff had expressed.

"Much." Eff replied, his previous nervousness long gone. He too, seemed quite gleeful right now, despite the amount of pain he was in. And on top of that he was quite flattered to hear that his grin suited him well, just as D-boy's frown suited his own face.

Eff didn't regret telling D-boy that he was okay with his suicide. This was probably the best thing he could have done for his older counterpart, but now that this was said and taken care of, there was another task at hand. Eff couldn't help but to wonder.

"So, where are we going to call the ambulance?" He wasn't exactly eager to go to the hospital, but he was eager to get better, and possibly feel and move his bad arm again. Eff hoped it was a nearby place, like maybe one of their neighbors. Maybe they could go over to that one small child's house; the one that Nny used to visit all the time. It seemed close enough.

Eff also seemed like he wanted to try and get out of bed, but he didn't dare move without D-boy's help. He was quite aware that any attempt to stand in his condition without any help would certainly result in a one-way trip to the floor.

D-boy was well intent on this answer already as Mr. Eff spoke. "You know that little boy next door? The loud one, that Johnny spared. What's his name..." He paused, thinking harder on it than earlier. "Oh, yes. Squee. He seems reliable- at least for a measly child, so we'll go over there. Sound easy enough?" He of course had his doubts, but if that raging, emotionally-unbalanced lunatic went there time and time again and returned unscathed, then surely they wouldn't have too much trouble.

The only major issue at the moment appeared to be getting Mr. Eff over there in the first place. D-boy again prepared to help him along and placed a hand around his waist, holding Mr. Eff's hand in the other. He motioned for him to get up, so that they could move along and get him to a hospital already.

Oh, so they were just going to that little squeaky kid's house? That sounded easy enough, though walking that small distance, especially in Eff's condition, was easier said than done. Either way, Eff was willing to try. They were going to go over there to call an ambulance after all! Then he can go to the hospital and get better, and continue with his life.

"Of course." Eff replied. He gripped D-boy's hand tightly as he got up, letting his older counterpart support him through the movement. Though his shoulder decided to be nice and send a pulse of pain through him when he moved. It was clear that his body was in no shape to be moving or standing, but Eff was sure he could manage, if only for a little while.

The pain did make him wince and whine a little, but he kept himself from screaming by biting his lip shut. Standing wasn't exactly easy, but Eff did have D-boy's assistance. He leaned heavily on D-boy, trying to get his legs to hold him up. His legs shook and trembled underneath his weight, and it was apparent that Eff hadn't used them much this week.

Eff then quickly locked his knees as an attempt to get them to stop shaking. He supposed this was as good as he was going to get, so he forced a grin on his face. "I'm fine," a lie, of course, "Let's go." The sooner they left, the sooner they would get to that 'Squee's place and the sooner they could call an ambulance and get Eff to the hospital. Then, everything will be better. Or at least that's what Eff thought.

D-boy helped Mr. Eff along as he stood up, and let him lean against him for support as much as he needed. Which, consequently, was a lot. They struggled a bit as they made their way across the house and to the outdoors, Mr. Eff stumbling and almost tripping several times along the way.

It was a cold night, and though it was a fever that his counterpart had, D-boy was unsure how well that would go with his wound. At least they wouldn't be outside for long, or so he hoped. As they neared their neighboring house, he couldn't help but notice that all the curtains were closed, save for the window upstairs that didn't appear to have any. The only thing that assured him that someone was there was that in that same window the light was on.

Once the duo reached the house, D-boy shifted Mr. Eff to one side and propped him up, attempting to balance him as D-boy raised his hand to the door. He was hesitant, completely unsure of what kind of reaction they'd receive, but he had no time to care for that. He curled his hand into a fist, and knocked.

It took a few minutes, but eventually D-boy heard footsteps, and the door was slowly opened by the expected little boy. He was extraordinarily small, and clutching his stuffed bear as he opened the door, his already large eyes widening as he looked up at the two men. He clamped his mouth shut and emitted a shrill squeal, obviously trying to hold in a scream upon seeing them.

D-boy's assurance of the plan withered slightly once he was put into the awkward situation of confrontation with a human being other than Johnny, but his insistent urge to help Mr. Eff pressed him on to talk, as unsure as he was on what to say to the boy.

He cleared his throat before speaking, and adjusted his stature to support Mr. Eff more. "Hello, child. Do you have a phone? If so, we need to borrow it right away. As you can see, my companion is in need of great assistance, so we need to get him to a hospital immediately." That came out in a much calmer demeanor than he expected, perhaps a bit more than necessary, but he needed to keep himself in check so that he didn't frighten the boy more than they obviously already had.

Squee looked the two over, but his stare stuck intently on Mr. Eff as he appeared to be examining his current state. "What happened to him?" He asked, holding his bear even tighter. "Uh..." D-boy hadn't quite thought this one through. What would he say? He certainly couldn't confess his doings, he'd lose any trustworthiness he could have on the kid!

"He... He got into a fight. A rough one. With an idiot who doesn't know how to hit arteries." He didn't need to add that last bit, but the crude humor simply slipped out with it, as distasteful as it was at the time. "But that b-blood looks dry! Wouldn't that mean it's been there a long time? And why-"

D-boy narrowed his eyes at the child. "Do you have a phone, or not?" Squee let out another squeal, and nodded before backing up into the house, giving them room to come in. "Y-yes sir." He replied quietly, quickly moving along as D-boy followed, tightening his grip on Mr. Eff to keep him at a steady pace.

Eff couldn't believe he actually made it to that boy's house. He had tripped, and stumbled, and his legs had almost collapsed underneath him several times, but somehow he made it to that house. He was glad that D-boy assisted him greatly. Without his counterpart Eff wouldn't even had made it out of bed.

Though, when they got to little Squee's house, Eff wasn't in the best of shape. His fever rose, despite the cold weather, and Eff had gotten dizzy along the way. His breathing became labored as well. Not to mention that he was in a lot of agony, even after this short walk. Eff just wanted to lie down and not move for a while.

Eff waited for D-boy to talk to the kid so they could get inside. He didn't want to scare the boy off, or scare him more at least, so he kept quiet until they were allowed inside. But there... was a certain word that came from D-boy that Eff didn't expect to hear.

'As you can see, my companion is in need of great assistance, so we need to get him to a hospital immediately.' Companion? Com...pan...ion...? His counterpart had never referred to him as that. It was either 'boy', or 'Mr. Eff' or some insult like 'an outhouse'. Eff was a bit flattered by this, but his current state wasn't going to allow him to show it. At least, he was happy to know that D-boy must have fond feelings for him.

Eff then saw that Squee had finally backed up to let them inside, and he spoke up, just to ask the boy another question. "D... do you have a couch or something? I can't stand much longer..." He stuttered a bit, and almost sounded like he was out of breath.

It was quite obvious that this short walk had taken a toll on Eff. Oh, he hoped that this boy had a living room of sorts nearby; otherwise, Eff would get quite acquainted with the floor. He seemed to be dragging his feet as D-boy helped him along inside. Even with D-boy's help, his body was close to giving up and collapsing, and his grip on his counterpart—or companion, rather, was loosening a bit as his body urged him to give up and stop moving.

"Oh... Y- yeah, we do. It's in the living room." Squee replied, pointing to the doorway. The small boy led them, moving out of the way to allow the duo to ease Mr. Eff into a sitting position again. After he was seated, D-boy looked over his counterpart again, and his frown widened.

Though they managed to get here quickly, he was worried they wouldn't get Mr. Eff to the hospital soon enough- and now that he got a good look at him, he appeared to be in even more pain than before. He survived this long at least, but what's to say when he finally got to the hospital? Moving was hard enough, and though the distance was short, the walk seemed to have exhausted him. But there was no time to waste fretting, the longer they took the longer the ambulance would be. He turned to Squee again, as he backed out into the kitchen and pointed to a hallway, with a small table in the middle and a telephone on top of it.

"The phone's over there." He stated. D-boy nodded, and made his way towards the object.

Todd watched as the odd-looking man dashed towards the telephone without another word. Quietly, he made his way back into the living room, feeling the other seemed to be in a condition that would render him less dangerous. This interrupted his writing, and he was reluctant to open the door at first, but he had done it and now all he could do was wait for them to leave. Daddy wasn't even home to help, and mommy was asleep... He was left alone to deal with them.

He glanced over at the other one of the two, and clung to Shmee in fear as he got a better look at him.

He didn't know who these men were, but boy were they frightening. They didn't look like ordinary people that usually walked by. He wasn't sure what, but there was certainly something off. Their eyes were weird- he swore the one he was looking at had _red_ eyes too, and what was with their pupils? They had decorative make-up, but he was sweating professedly, yet it wasn't running at all. And why, oh why in the world, were they wearing chef outfits? Were they bakers? What bakery asked for striped uniforms? And he could've sworn- although it was brief, that they hand fangs...

He sat down on his dad's chair beside the couch and tried to shrug it off, they hadn't done anything! After all, they were the ones coming here for help, and they hadn't attacked him yet. It looked more like they were the ones who'd been attacked. Todd was eyeing that man's injury the moment he laid eyes on it at the doorway, and was curious as to what had happened to these peculiar people. As he noted out-loud before, the blood on his bandages was dry and brownish in color. He admitted he was far from knowledgeable in the medical stuff, but he knew enough to tell that was indeed an old, unattended wound- which the other man was suspiciously snappy about, but it was too early to draw conclusions, right?

There was only one way to find out, so he decided to try and push aside his apprehensions, and attempt to socialize with his momentary guests. He took a deep breath to keep down his shrill voice, and spoke to the man next to him. "I... I'm Todd. What's your name, Mr.?"

Eff let out a breath of a relief once he was seated on the couch. He fell back against the cushions, which admittedly, were much softer than the couch cushions back at their own home. It was actually very comfortable, at least compared to standing and walking. It was also almost tempting to close his eyes, but Eff did not want to slip into another nightmare so soon. Hell, with the pain he was in, he might even not get that far, but he wasn't going to take his chances.

Eff watched D-boy leave the room to call the ambulance. It wouldn't be too long now. When D-boy calls the ambulance Eff can finally go to the hospital and get better, and hopefully he'll never have to feel this kind of agonizing pain again. A shame he knew that he might not see his companion again—

'I... I'm Todd.'

Suddenly Eff's thoughts stopped and his attention was turned to the small child. Todd, huh? Eff was sure that his name was Squee though... 'What's your name, Mr.?' He heard the question. It wouldn't hurt to give the kid an answer... or would it? Well, everything hurt at this point.

While he gathered the will to speak up and answer, Eff's glance went to Squee's to the stuffed bear he was squeezing the dear life out of. It was a very slight feeling, it was, but... there was something peculiar about that bear. Eff was in too much pain to care or put much thought into it though.

Finally he looked back at the child and replied. "F-Fuck... Uh... Eff... You can call me Mr. Eff..." He stuttered, trying not to strain himself too much to respond. Eff preferred to be called that anyways. At times the name 'Mr. Fuck' or 'Fuck' could be confusing. At least with 'Eff' he knew for certain when someone was referring to him.

"And isn't your name 'Squee'...?" He decided to ask, just out of curiosity. At least, that's what Nny always referred to the child as. This 'Todd' name was completely new information to Eff.

'F- Fuck... Uh...' Todd raised an eyebrow, looking intently at the man. He supposed since he was in such bad shape at the time, the curse word just slipped out. After all, being in pain would strike up a lot of emotions, so- 'Eff... You can call me Mr. Eff...' Or not. Did his mom and dad really name him that, or was that his last name? Maybe it was just a nickname. Yeah, that made more sense. He was about to ask this 'Mr. Eff' about it, when he asked Todd something himself.

'And isn't your name 'Squee'...?'

Todd froze up and the grip he had on Shmee was released, dropping him to the floor before emitting the said 'squee' noise he was deemed as. Why did Eff know that? The only person around _here_ who called him that was- "W- W- W- ..." His teeth practically chattered from the stuttering, as he remained petrified in place. "W- Why... do you ask, Mr. Eff? Where did you hear that?" He inquired, his nervousness heightening with each word. Certainly he wouldn't know _that_ man. He couldn't! He had to have heard it from someone else, Todd had never seen anyone come out of that house alive!

Then again, he didn't know where these two came from, either. No, no, no. That'd be ridiculous. How could they know him? If they ran into him, they'd surely be harmed terr... i... bly...

Todd stared at Eff's wound, and his face flushed itself of all color. Could it be true? Had... had that crazy man returned to their neighborhood? After all that time in the hospital to make him 'normal', after all that therapy his parents made him undergo to convince him that his fears were just that- fears, that man was still around?! He had tried desperately to submerge those memories, to ignore all of the signs that he was still visiting, but if something like this had happened... then what more evidence would Todd's mind need to know he was real?

"What happened to you that gave you that injury? Were you attacked? Where was it, was it near here?" His panic was getting the better of him as he sputtered out questions; frantic for any sign that it wasn't who he thought it was. He might've been scaring the poor man himself, but his fears simply would not stand for not knowing such a thing, as he risked any complexion of being at all calm. So much for starting up a proper conversation.

The kid's reaction to his question was more than unusual. He had let go of his bear and emitted a little squeaky sound. 'W- W- W-...' The child even started to stutter! My, he was scared wasn't he? There was no denying it. Eff knew the look of fear rather well. But why was he afraid? Eff hadn't threatened the child. He hadn't grinned or pulled out anything sharp. Yes, he knew he could look scary, but all he did was ask a simple question. It didn't make any sense to Eff why this boy was frightened.

"Well... one of my 'friends' called you that quite often..." He simply answered. "I just assumed it was your name." He added.

Maybe Squee was afraid of the 'friend' Eff was referring to. Of course, it would be understandable to be scared of that homicidal man. Would Squee be even more afraid now that he knew that Eff knew Nny? Perhaps. Oh well, he was already terrified. The child was probably already assuming the worst. No reason to cover anything up with lies, if he was already scared.

He was questioned further by the child. Perhaps he assumed that Nny had attacked him. That was a great assumption, but Nny was nowhere to be found at the moment. At least as far as Eff knew, that boy was long gone.

"If you really want to know... I got stabbed with a knife." Eff stated the simple truth. "My companion and I... got into a little disagreement, and it just happened." Of course there was more to this story, but Eff didn't really feel like revealing that much. "Don't worry though... D-boy won't hurt you, and I... well... I _can't_ hurt you. Not in my condition, at least... So stop being so terrified. You're in no danger tonight..."

Todd piped down as Eff spoke, though it being out of calmness was surely doubted. 'Friends'...? With _Johnny_? How?! He tried to draw a sensical conclusion as much as his young mind could. Maybe his old neighbor was less cracked up than he thought, and on the craftier side. So, maybe Eff didn't know about his evil doings. The main point was, Eff knew Johnny, and that was all Todd needed to have his dreads heightened to their fullest. At least, until he continued...

The knife part Todd guessed, but his fear's target was quickly redirected when the knife's wielder was brought up. His companion? Was that the other man? The other man_** in his house**_?! His heartbeat quickened rapidly, and Eff's direction to not worry didn't help in the slightest, especially as he went on to the subject of himself. He knew he'd dealt with much worse, but every case was too close for comfort, especially when it was within the confines of his own home.

The only security he had was that the two were going to a hospital. He hoped the other one would get the phone call over with, and that they'd be leaving soon. Too afraid and unsure of how to continue their conversation, he simply reached down to pick Shmee back up, and sat silently until 'D-boy' as he was called, returned.

As obnoxious as the people on the phone were and as awkward as it was to dodge his own doings, D-boy had managed to get through it and alert them of the situation safely and hurriedly made his way back towards the living room. He stood in doorway, directing his attention to Mr. Eff and barely noticing the petrified young boy near him. He was practically displaying that dumb smile from before, if it weren't for the annoyances of that call keeping his gloomy look in place, as for the first and hopefully last time in his miserable life, he had something good to say.

"No worries about death for you right now, Mr. Eff." He stated almost excitedly, at least coming from him. "The ambulance will be here any minute!"

The little squeaky boy had gone quiet. Whether it was from fear or calmness Eff didn't care much. He was hurting too much to carry a conversation anyways, so he preferred the silence between himself and the boy.

The silence didn't last too long, as D-boy soon appeared in the doorway. 'No worries about death for you right now, Mr. Eff.' His companion almost sounded joyful, but a smile was absent from his face. Again, Eff would describe D-boy's expression as a happy frown. 'The ambulance will be here any minute!' Ah, yes, well this was good news, for both himself and D-boy. Eff will go to the hospital and D-boy... D-boy will get to kill himself soon.

This was a good moment, perhaps a happy one, but Eff didn't smile. Going to the hospital was a little nerve-wrecking since he had never been to one. A slight fear had risen in Eff. He would ask D-boy to go with him, but he knew very well his companion had other things to take care of.

Eff shouldn't be so selfish after all! He'll be just fine at the hospital. ...That is, if he was able to get better at this point. Another worry on Eff's mind was that he may be too injured and sick for the hospital to help him. If that was the case he would just die anyways, so no, there were still worries about death, but at least there were less worries on that subject with the ambulance on the way.

Either way, this could be his last moments with D-boy. He knew that whenever he returned from the hospital, D-boy would be dead. His heart dropped realizing this.

"D... D-boy? Can you sit next to me...?" Eff seemed to suddenly ask. He was struck with the urge to be close to his companion. If this was his last moments with D-boy, he wanted to be right next to him. Though, being unable to move himself, he had requested his companion to move closer to him.

D-boy was actually surprised to see Mr. Eff's smile not return upon hearing the news, but admittedly he wouldn't be smiling either if he was in such pain. Well, if it was delivered from someone else, that is... Maybe Mr. Eff just had something else on his mind, but this appeared to be the biggest matter at hand.

Oh well, his expression wasn't an issue at all, the only worry at the time was how long 'a few minutes' would be. He'd held out this long, at least, and soon enough he'd get the proper treatment he deserved. His attention was then placed on the other being in the room, Squee.

The boy cringed when they made eye-contact, edging his small self to the back of the chair as much as he could. D-boy knew by now that he was rather intimidating, but it seemed something must've gone on while he was in the hallway. A few questions came to his mind when he returned his attention to his counterpart, but it seemed Mr. Eff had his own.

'D... D-boy? Can you sit next to me...?' Not thinking much of it, D-boy obliged to his request, and seated himself next to the other. "So he'll be going to the hospital? You'll be leaving soon?" Squee remarked quietly, looking over at D-boy, his fearful expression faltering in only a slight amount. "Yes, we'll be out of your hair before long." He replied. Seeming to take this notion as an opportunity to return to whatever he was doing beforehand, the boy nodded to D-boy in a silent agreement, before sliding himself off of the chair and bounding back upstairs without another word. D-boy didn't mind this, as the two were left 'alone' again, and could share their final conversation in peace before the paramedics arrived.

Eff was glad that his companion had sat next to him. He took the opportunity to lean against him, resting his head on the other's shoulder. This was nice. He only glanced at Squee when he asked when they would be leaving. And as if the boy had heard his silent wish to be alone with D-boy, Squee had soon scampered upstairs. Eff breathed a sigh of relief. He would rather be alone with his dear companion during their last moments together after all.

"D-boy..." Eff spoke up again. He paused, as it seemed that it was rather difficult to speak in his condition. But, there was one thing he wanted to tell his older companion before they were separated for good. He had to say it now, before the ambulance came. This was his last chance to talk to D-boy. "D-boy, I... uhm..." Either Eff was in pain, or he was nervous. He did seem to hesitate, and stalled by shifting his body a little to get more comfortable. In the process he also slipped his good hand into D-boy's, and held it as tight, or at least as tight as he could at the moment.

To be honest, Eff wanted to say those few words he often heard people say when they feel a lot of affectionate feelings towards each other. For the longest, Eff had denied his own feelings towards his companion, and believed he was still just trying to manipulate him. But it was pretty obvious this wasn't the case anymore. After bonding with D-boy through pleasant conversations, and being taken care of by him, Eff actually did feel something that was not simply lies and tricks. These feelings even would let D-boy kill himself, if that meant his companion would finally be happy. And he was almost certain, that if D-boy was willing to betray his master for him, then he must share these same feelings.

Eff opened his mouth to speak again, and his grip on D-boy's hand tightened a little. It would be such a shame if they left each other without saying such words. "I... I love you, Psycho-doughboy..." Eff whispered. Whispering was easier than speaking, but he was also quiet due to some fear that he was wrong about D-boy not sharing the exact same feelings. He quietly hoped that his fears would be proven wrong momentarily.

D-boy watched Mr. Eff as he attempted to speak. Hesitantly, repeating his name a couple of times. He even held onto D-boy's hand, though the strength in his grasp was clearly weaker than it would've been. It was a gentle touch, and D-boy returned it, giving a light tightening on his own grip as Mr. Eff managed to talk.

It was a simple sentence, a common sentence. Three words he never thought much of during his life, mere effortless words that could be tossed out by anyone. Yet...

Now that his counterpart had stated them, suddenly they felt important, and he was the receiver. He kept dwelling on these worries that Mr. Eff's feelings for him had dissipated completely, or that they were just lies to begin with. He figured he messed up any chance of his own being reciprocated, but here Mr. Eff was, doing what they did to each other best: proving him wrong.

All of his apprehensions and doubt were for naught. He felt like laughing about it, maybe even crying, but neither reaction came. He simply stared at his counterpart, a solemn expression on his face, for several minutes until he spoke up himself.

"You know, when I first met you, I thought my hatred for you would be eternal. I thought that even more after our first argument. Maybe I'd still be thinking that if I hadn't of lost my temper, and set all of this bullshit into motion. But the fact of the matter is I did lose my temper. I took that knife, and dug all of my hatred, anger, worry and suspicions into you. I even kicked you around afterwards, I kicked as hard as I could. I think, in that moment, I understood your influence. I felt the adrenaline of homicidal desires and it was as if it wouldn't let go. It was strange. I didn't want you to die, at least not like that. I was aware of that even at the time, but..." He paused, going over the scenario again in his head, watching it in his mind like a video tape. "I didn't want you to die, no, but I wanted to kill you. Because I didn't want your words to be fake, and I didn't want to give into anything more than I already have. I didn't want you to know how I felt, because then you'd know how to use me, and I am weak. But now, I don't care. After you leave, I'll finally be gone, so right now I have nothing to regret." He took a breath and closed his eyes, hoping it'd make it easier. Even now, he couldn't bear to make eye-contact if he was to confess such things, acknowledging reality might just break him at this time.

"I love you too, Mr. Fuck. Even when we were ghoulishly-painted pastry display stands. I hated what you did, I hated that you prevented me from my one goal, but I loved you. And now that you've removed that barrier, I can leave this place and never have another thought on it. There is nothing left in you for me to hate."

After Eff had admitted his feelings to D-boy he waited for his companion's response.

A minute passed. Maybe D-boy was just letting the confession soak in.

Two minutes passed. There were still no words coming from D-boy's lips, but Eff wasn't concerned about that just yet.

Five minutes passed. Eff noticed that his companion was staring at him rather gravely. He started to worry that maybe D-boy didn't feel as fond of him as he thought, and his older companion now pitied him even more for having such feelings. This thought made his heart sank. At least this silence was better than an out loud rejection.

Eff was just about to move his hand out of D-boy's when he finally heard him spoke up. He froze in place and listened carefully, wondering what D-boy had to say about his confession. Of course, Eff already knew about D-boy's hatred for him. He'd have to be even more stupid than Johnny not to see that! He wanted to ask D-boy why he didn't want him to die when his companion paused his words, but his body wasn't exactly up to letting him speak at the moment, so he just settled for staring at D-boy with interest until he spoke up again.

As D-boy continued, Eff understood more why his companion had attacked him that one horrible day. His suspicions were indeed true! At first, Eff's words were completely false. At first, Eff only wanted to use the emotion called 'love' to manipulate D-boy, and get him on his side. Eff almost wanted to confess this as well, and let D-boy know the full truth, but at the same time it didn't matter. Now his words were true. Now he really did feel the emotion 'love' towards his companion. Now he didn't care if D-boy had to kill himself to be truly happy.

And then, Eff finally heard those words he had been nearly dying to hear. _'I love you too, Mr. Fuck.'_ It made him feel so unbelievably delighted to hear those words. While it was indeed painful to smile, Eff did manage a small one. His emotions even overwhelmed him to the point where there were joyful tears in his eyes. It was even more pleasing to hear that D-boy loved him even when they only existed as horrifyingly painted chunks of styrofoam, and admitting that he no longer felt any hate towards him only promoted this blissful feeling even more.

Eff wanted to say something, or anything to tell D-boy how happy he was to hear this. He wanted to hug his companion tightly and go on the rest of his existence in his embrace as well, but that was impossible, and Eff's body simply didn't have the energy for that. All he managed was a small, happy, squeak-like sound, before his attempt to speak was cut off by the wail of sirens.

The mere noise seemed to drain the happiness from Eff's face, as he was reminded that he had to go to the hospital to recover from his injury and whatever illness it was causing. He had to leave D-boy. He was going to be alone after he recovered. Sure, living on longer and continuing existing was something Eff wanted, but he also wished to be with D-boy just a bit longer. Even if his companion had to kill himself, to spend just a mere day with him when he was well again would be satisfying enough.

Eff's fond feelings for his older companion almost made him wish D-boy had never called the ambulance, and they could end their existences together... _almost_.

Less than a minute passed before the sound of tires screeching was heard outside the house. At last, the ambulance had arrived. Eff moved closer to D-boy, closing any space they had between them, and he was now practically clinging to his hand and arm. He was a little afraid, to say the least, but he really didn't want to be separated from his dear companion.

Soon people dressed in hospital uniforms soon rushed into the house with a stretcher to put Eff on. They removed Eff from D-boy's side and laid him down on the stretcher as quickly and gently as possible. A couple of them then pushed Eff out of the house and into the ambulance, but one of them stayed behind; a young woman. While they had gotten contact information and such in the call with D-boy from earlier, there was one question that still needed to be asked, if only for the comfort of their new patient. "Would you like to come to the hospital with your friend?" She asked D-boy.

Though his companion's eyes had become teary, his expression betrayed them. At this point, D-boy wasn't all that surprised to find that the other's smile gave him a tinge of his own glee. But as with all things it had to come to an end, this one a bit faster than he had hoped, as their time was cut short by the blaring sirens of the nearing ambulance.

He watched as Mr. Eff's delight seemed to wash from him as he inched closer towards D-boy, closing the gap. He could feel the grip from Mr. Eff's good arm grow tighter, and was about to comfort him before the paramedics arrived and quickly rushed in. D-boy barely got a chance to give a proper goodbye as they whisked him away on the stretcher and out the door, leaving him to give a small, awkward wave. He stood up, and was about to leave himself until he noticed that one of the paramedics stayed behind to ask him a question.

Well, yes, he would like to come. He wanted to give Mr. Eff a formal farewell, but... Maybe it'd be best if he just let him be. Mr. Eff was a man of the moment, and the moment they shared was gone. It was brief and they were interrupted, but he knew they said what was needed. Going along and giving him more time than that might just be painful, and the way D-boy saw it was that the sooner Mr. Eff was finished going through any more pain, the better.

They could leave, knowing that the last thing they shared with each other was the truth.

"I must respectfully decline that offer, ma'am, as I have..." His frown tugged at the corners of his lips, he was still preparing himself for his inevitable side of the deal. "... I have some 'business' to attend to." With that, he silently departed the house himself, and the dynamic duo of 'The Doughboys' would split for the first- and last time.

After D-boy rejected the offer to go to the hospital with his companion, the last of the paramedics left to the ambulance. Eff's heart raced as he watched the paramedics around him work quickly. They cut off his shirt and bandages to reveal the wound. Even experience doctors grimaced at the sight. Eff's stab wound was anything but pretty, after all. It had gotten worse since Eff last managed to look at it too. It looked more... decomposed and rotted. Eff was starting to doubt that the doctors would be able to do anything to help his shoulder and arm.

While some paramedics tried to clean up the wound, others put a plastic mask over Eff's nose and mouth to supply him oxygen. Some told him comforting words like 'Everything will be okay' and 'We'll take care of you'. Eff might have not noticed at the moment, but he looked terrified. He was terrified.

The ambulance had started moving, and D-boy was nowhere to be found. Eff half wished that his companion would accompany him to the hospital, if to just extend their final moments together. It was a selfish thought, but Eff couldn't help it. Tears slipped from his eyes as he realized that he was never going to see dear D-boy again... alive that is. That moment that had long passed was their last moment, and it saddened Eff greatly. Of course they had finally confessed their feelings truthfully and that was great! ...but Eff didn't want that moment to end so suddenly. There was so much Eff didn't know. When was D-boy going to paint the wall? Does D-boy know how to kill someone? Can D-boy drain the blood from the victims? When was D-boy going to kill himself? How did D-boy plan to kill himself? The unknowns were almost as painful as his shoulder wound. But none of the questions were as painful as the following: What was he going to do without D-boy?

Of course, Eff was perfectly capable of living without D-boy. He has spent most of his life avoiding his depressing companion. But now... all he really wanted to do was spend time with him, and he knew that wasn't going to happen. Eff wondered how he will be able to continue to exist with this unfulfilled longing for D-boy. Would he be depressed himself without him? Would there even be a point to existing without D-boy by his side?

Before Eff could think of an answer, the ambulance hit a pothole. The sudden jump surprised Eff, and ended his train of thoughts, but he was strapped in the stretcher well enough to not bother his shoulder. Well, it wasn't like he didn't have time to think about the answers to these questions. Eff predicted that he will be in the hospital quite a while with an injury like his. Being exhausted, both physically and emotionally, Eff fell unconscious before the ambulance arrived at the hospital.


	9. Such Hypnotizing Words

Several days passed since his counterpart had finally been hospitalized, D-boy could've been gone by now. Yet here he was, still existing. It wasn't that he didn't want to leave- oh God, _yes, _did he want to- but he was still bracing himself for what he had to do. "It's just painting... Do it and you can leave." He mumbled the words to himself for the third time today, convinced that if he said it enough, it'd happen. Instead he was sprawled out on the couch, one arm limply hanging off of it as he continually blew a few strands of hair from his face.

He thought that if he gave himself some time and let all the pandemonium of the past weeks settle down, he'd be a bit more ready. That was quite an error in his thoughts. He should've known the only thing it gave him was more time to dwell on it. He knew he was opposed to the idea, but he didn't realize how long it'd take to adjust to it.

It wasn't even the blood itself, as sickening as it was; so much as it was the act of betrayal. He was avoiding it, because he didn't know if he could truly go through with it. He only had to do it once, and then he could leave for himself without a care, but Mr. Eff... He would eventually recover, and live on to take the lives of others. He'd continue to paint the wall, and his Master would never escape from its barrier beyond their realm. It was painful that he would be doing this to his Master, but it was even more painful to realize that he wasn't as opposed to it as he was months before.

He'd had a lot of time to think about it, and maybe Mr. Eff was right. 'It was trapped because somebody trapped it! And they'll do it again! It's how it works!' His words repeated in D-boy's mind, and the more he thought on it, the more sense it made. Something, somehow, put his Master here with the intention of keeping it at bay- and there was no doubt as to why. He didn't even need to see the carnage it had done when it had been released, he heard it. The screams of many echoed throughout the household as his Master tore through anything and everything it could. For all he knew, he was as responsible for as many deaths as Mr. Eff was.

His Master was catastrophic, this was a fact. He knew it could cause mass destruction, and perhaps even eliminate the Earth. At an earlier time, though, this never phased D-boy. In fact, a part of him really encouraged it. It still did, at least a bit, the world would be better off if it wasn't here at all. But now, he was given a reason to want to keep the world in place. He wanted his counterpart to enjoy the time he had left on this miserable world, because somehow he could make things better for himself.

He could enjoy himself all he wanted, and D-boy wouldn't have to be affected. That's really what he preferred in the first place.

Perhaps now just wasn't the time for an apocalypse, at least not like that. Keeping his Master away would surely cost many lives, but maybe to them it was better than losing them all. It all depended on D-boy's actions now, and he had made his decision.

Finally, he got up and headed to the basement.

There were stairs and rooms aplenty, but he succeeded in reaching the room that withheld the beast. It had been so long since he'd been down here (or anyone really), and it showed. The 'paint' was really starting to dry, and the wall creaked and cracked with the sounds of his Master inside. The room absolutely reeked with the smell of gore and rotted wood, but even the flies seemed to get the right idea to avoid this place.

Pushing past his instinct to simply book it from the atmosphere alone, he darted for the several buckets that were scattered around the room, desperately looking into each one. Only a few still had any remnants of blood in them, mostly stained into the metal, and a few drops wouldn't be the thick coat Mr. Eff requested. It really was expected for there to be no blood left, but he had hoped Mr. Eff would've been too exhausted to use them all last time he was down, which left D-boy with the only option he had wanted so much to avoid.

Having to commit murder was like salt on a wound, but there was no need to banter over it again. He wished he wouldn't have had to give that victim chained upstairs another glance, but it would be over soon enough. The poor guy would've died from starvation or infection like the others eventually, anyways. He prepared himself with a few deep breaths, and grabbed the buckets before going back up a few floors.

When he entered the designated room and clicked on the fizzling light, he didn't even need to scan it for a proper weapon. There were tools and torture devices abound, but again he went for the simple knife, discarded on the ground carelessly by either Mr. Eff or Johnny. It was one of the few weapons they had where he wouldn't have to figure out how to use it, and a gun or taser really wouldn't work for this. He then directed his attention to the horrified, sobbing man chained upside-down to the wall by his wrists and ankles, and reluctantly placed the buckets in front of him.

"You... you don't have to do this!" The man pleaded with D-boy. "Oh, but I do." He was of course oblivious to the necessities of this process, and probably thought D-boy was just another psychotic sadist, about to do to him as what had been done to the many other rotting corpses within the room. It was useless to correct him on it though, as his outcome was going to be the same. Really, it was pretty amazing he was still alive to begin with.

"P- please! I'm sorry for whatever I did, just let me go! I don't want to die!" He begged again, his voice cracking with sorrow, and D-boy attempted to give him at least _some _'ease'. "Know that you probably didn't do anything, this occurrence was all by chance." He assumed it was. Mr. Eff was never very selective with his victims, as long as it was something that bled. The man's words to attempt turning the situation around quickly dissolved back into sobs upon realizing the hopelessness of his effort, there wasn't any argument to help save his life.

D-boy kneeled down in front of him, pushing the first bucket underneath the man's head. Tears and mucus dribbled down his face, and he began squirming as D-boy held up the knife, as well as grabbing his head to keep it steady. 'Here we go, no turning back now...' He thought to himself, bringing the knife closer and positioning it against the man's neck.

In haste, he made an incision across the man's throat, and the blood began to spray and leak. The man desperately tried to let out a scream, but began choking from his own liquids, resulting in the blood pouring out even faster. D-boy knew he shouldn't have been too surprised, but the bucket was practically filled up already, and he switched to the next one without hesitation.

This carried on until nearly all of the buckets had been filled, but D-boy decided it was best to just stop there. This was probably more than enough, and the weight would be harrowing to bring them all down, he might even need to do it in turns. At the least, his victim died within minutes, so he didn't get to experience the pain for long. Blood continued dripping from his cut throat, after all D-boy pierced through a major artery, and he didn't see any reason to attempt stopping it. He'd be left here with the array of corpses now that he was one of them, just as expected, so he most likely didn't mind. It was too bad he didn't know how much use he gave to the world with that disgusting procedure, but it was better than dying like anyone else here.

Without devoting much more thought to the current scenario, D-boy dropped the knife and stood back up, picking up as many buckets as he could carry and marching straight back downstairs. Of course much of the blood spilled by the time he reached the room and set them back down again, but there appeared to be enough left to provide an efficient coat for now. Going against his Master's wishes would be harder than the murder itself, but he had to do what had to be done. He made a promise to Mr. Eff as well, after all. So without any further complaints from himself, he picked up one of the larger brushes that laid upon the floor, and got to work.

He hadn't kept track of the time, but he assumed that a couple of hours had passed since he began painting. He really didn't expect it to be so tiring, but the important thing was he had painted practically the whole wall. The creaking ceased around the middle of it, and by the end the distorting room had returned to normal, or as normal as it could possibly get.

Now that the process was over with, though, D-boy didn't know how to feel. That was much easier than he thought it was going to be. Almost too easy, but obviously he couldn't change what he had already done, and to be frank, he didn't really want to. He couldn't deny that it would be worth the burden, for his part of the deal was completed, and he could finally depart.

He returned upstairs to the first floor, almost relieved to breathe in anything but that humid, repugnant air from below. But he wouldn't have to breathe in anything soon enough. Without delay, he roamed throughout the house and sought out the object of his desire. It took some time, as the amount of these within this house was scarce, but after scavenging through Johnny's piles of junk, the location was underneath the bed's mattress of all places.

He picked up the pistol, and pressed the magazine release. Out popped a full round, and he slid it right back in as fast as he took it out to check. An unfamiliar feeling reached his face's muscles, as his mouth curled into a large grin. He hadn't felt this kind of excitement in a very long time, the feeling made his actions worth it. He made sure the safety was off, and hastily pressed the muzzle against the side of his head.

This was it. Even if he failed his assigned job, he succeeded in saving his counterpart. His... companion. That was enough for him. Mr. Eff's life was an accomplishment, and his own death was what he earned.

It was his turn to go over the stars, as he pulled the trigger and the gun went off.

Eff had awoken from a brief moment sometime after his ambulance ride. He must have not been in the hospital very long, since he was still on a stretcher. His vision was blurred when his eyes managed to open. Eff could tell he was moving since what he assumed to be ceiling lights kept passing above him. He could hear people too. Their voices were loud and frantic and yet his ears couldn't make out any words. Every noise jumbled together into a bunch of incomprehensible nonsense. Noting how fast the lights above were going by, the doctors must have been in a hurry to take him... wherever they were taking him. In fact, the lights were starting to hurt his barely opened eyes. They were almost like flashes at this point. He closed his eyes once again and let the darkness engulfed him back into unconsciousness.

Eff felt like he was in this darkness for a long time, but really there was no way to tell how long he had been out. Hopefully he hadn't died. He then woke up once again, this time on a bed. The room was too dark to make out much detail. Eff guessed he awoken sometime during the night. He stared at the ceiling and blinked a few times to try to get his vision to focus. As he waited for his eyes to adjust, he could hear a steady beeping sound beside him. It was loud, but not harsh on the ears. It sounded very rhythmical too, and it was almost calming to hear. Eff also noticed that there was some sort of mask on his face. It didn't seem to restrict air. Maybe it was to help him breathe? Well, as long as it wasn't doing harm, Eff didn't mind it.

Eff took a moment to try and move or feel his injured arm. Sadly he didn't feel a thing. ...Actually, his left side felt oddly lighter. By now his vision was pretty clear, so he glanced down at his arm—or he would have, if it was there. Eff felt his heart drop. He stared intently at where his arm was supposed to be, hoping that if he blinked enough times it would reappear. Unfortunately, no amount of blinking brought his arm back. His gaze went to the nub that used to be his arm. Realizing his arm was really gone, Eff began to panic. "N-no..." His voice cracked, as tears started to well up in his eyes. "No... no... no, no, no!" This wasn't supposed to happen! Eff needed that arm for do his 'job' back at home! How was he supposed to live with one arm?! "No, no, NO, NO, NONONO!" His voice got louder until he was screaming and screeching. The once calm beep beside him was now frantically going off. Eff flailed in bed, screaming and crying, going through an emotional breakdown as his arm continued to be absent.

And then Eff opened his eyes again. This time the room was much brighter, almost blinding. Tears were still streaming down his face, and that frantic beeping was still there, but something was different. He saw a blurred figure through his teary vision rush into the room; a nurse probably. She must have either heard the beeping machine or Eff's cries. Eff could tell she was speaking to him; he heard her voice, but for the moment he couldn't understand a word. The constant beeping and his own labored breathing was blocking out a lot of other sounds for the moment. After his vision had adjusted once again, he glanced at his missing arm again, except this time it wasn't missing. It was there, but... how? Did Eff just have a nightmare? Could he have possibly hallucinated that his arm had been lopped off? Either was possible, but before he could give it more thought, the nurse's voice finally made it to his ears.

"—Eff, Mr. Eff, are you alright? Mr. Eff can you hear me? Mr. Eff?" He glanced at the nurse to acknowledge her as he took in deep breaths to calm himself. "Are you okay?" The nurse repeated. Eff managed to give her a nod. "I... I-I had... a b-bad dream..." He stuttered, still obviously very frightened by his nightmare.

The young woman sighed in relief and gave Eff a polite smile. "Good." She said. "—I mean, well, it could have been something worse—it's common for ill patients to have nightmares!" She quickly explained, not wanting to make it sound like it was exactly a good thing that Eff was having nightmares.

Eff was still a little too shaken up to care if the nurse had accidentally insulted him. Besides, nightmares happened to him often anyways. But enough about nightmares; there was something else on Eff's mind. "Is... is my arm... am I going to be okay?" Eff suddenly asked. He didn't care much else about anything else. So what if he was hooked up to beeping machines and tubes that brought him air and fluids. He wanted to know if he was going to live and how long he was going to be kept here.

The nurse was more than happy to give Eff this information. She explained that the doctors had to put him into surgery soon after he arrived, due to his severe condition. They had to cut and pick out the rotted skin and flesh to clean it, and then seal it up properly. She also explained that his wound would definitely heal, but there would be some muscle damage and perhaps some temporary nerve damage as well, since the infection had gotten so bad. But there was good news; Eff will be able to feel and use his arm again soon! How soon was unclear. It could be as early as tomorrow, or it could take a few days. It just depended on how fast the antibiotics worked. The infection did have more than enough time to spread, after all. The nurse also explained all the other medicines he was going to be taking. Something for his fever, something for his pain... boy did the hospital enjoy throwing pills around, but as long as it made him feel better, Eff didn't care what he had to take.

All and all Eff got pretty much the gist of what he wanted to know. He was going to live, he was going to keep his arm, and he would be out of this place in a week or two. Eff didn't like the thought of staying for so long, but Eff was in so bad a shape when he arrived, the doctors didn't want to risk letting him out too early. Not only did Eff have that rotting wound, infection and illness, but he also appeared to be starving and had overall poor hygiene. So while he was going to stay at the hospital, he was going to be fed and get assistance with bathing as well as getting his wound and illness taken care of. That was all fine and dandy, though Eff didn't really care so much for the food (what the hell was a vegetable) or bathing. He just went with it and listened for once in his damned life because he figured whatever the hospital offered would make him better faster. The sooner he was out of here, the better.

It was dark, but that wasn't D-boy's problem. His problem was that he was _aware _that is was dark.

Hadn't he... shot himself? Yes, straight through the head. He blew his brains out! That _had _to have killed him!

So, then... where was he now? Was _this _death? It couldn't be, could it? Was it limbo? It felt familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Maybe his eyes were closed. He tried opening them, but they were indeed already opened.

He blinked. No, it was true. This place wasn't just dark, it was absolutely pitch black. He couldn't see an outline of anything, or tinting of any fractions of a higher source of light. He couldn't even see his hand as he held it up in front of himself. Was this the abyss that he longed for? Why did he feel he'd been here before, then?

Could it be, that this was... "_**Hello, servant.**_"

D-boy's entire body stiffened up. "M... Master...?"

"_**Oh, I'm so glad you remember that's who I am. With all that's been going on, I truly thought you had forgotten.**_"

"With 'all that's been going on'? Do you mean that you saw-" "_**Everything.**_"

D-boy remained petrified, refusing to turn around and face what he knew he was surrounded by, and continuing to stare off into the darkness. This was bad. No, this was beyond bad, this was fucking _dreadful. _He had betrayed his Master, and Master _**knew. **_It became as no wonder that this place held the lingering feeling of familiarity, his Master's presence proved the exact location.

He had returned to the wall.

"_**I gave you an order, and you disobeyed me. You are as much of a mistake as that 'partner' of yours.**_" It's 'voice', if you could call it that, echoed throughout the area, sounding like a conglomeration of many voices with no clear origin.

To most, it'd be terrifying, but D-boy was used to it. Now though, with this knowledge...

It was rare that he was speechless, he almost always had an input for a conversation, but with Master it was different. He'd question how it knew of these things, how it saw, but that would be pointless. Master had its ways. Especially with him.

"_**You**____**are my servant,**_" It continued. "_**You're supposed to do as I say. That's the only thing that you're meant for.**_"

He knew that, and perhaps it was indecent of him to stray from his duty as such, but... Master _was _the one who gave him the ability to decide such a thing, after all. Was he really to blame, for utilizing what he was given? He would've stayed on track, honestly, but having control over his own decisions made things far more complicated than necessary.

"_**All you had to do was kill him. From the looks of things, that's far from hard for the likes of you.**_" It bellowed. Holding his tongue was beginning to get hard. "_**I placed that self-awareness within you to aid you**____**in your work, and this is how you repay me?**_" So it did bring up his self-awareness, but treated it as some sort of 'gift'?

"I've never wanted to be conscious, and you know it." D-boy spoke up at last, his voice low and bitter. "Since I was given life- by _you, _I've only wanted to die."

"_**Exactly. If you wanted what I offered, you would have followed through.**_" "But why do we need Mr. Eff to return so badly? Why can't we just let him go?!"

Before he could even feel it, his Master jutted an appendage against him, slamming D-boy straight into what he could only assume was the ground. He couldn't feel any sort of material underneath him, yet he still hit something, and he hit it hard. 'Fortunately' he landed against the side of his face, keeping his nose safe from breaking, but it still resulted in him crunching his teeth down on his inner cheek, tearing it open slightly and allowing blood to escape.

"_**You know precisely why we need him to return. He'll jeopardize everything I've worked for, and prevent me from being released. He is a nuisance, and he must be stopped.**_" Well that _was _true, but...

"... Maybe it's better if you **don't **escape." D-boy stated, spitting some of the blood out. "If it was such a bad idea for him to be out again, why did you let him go?" He never thought the day would come where he'd question his Master's ways outright, but there was no sense to making that move. Didn't Mr. Eff come out the same way D-boy did?

"_**INSOLENT SERVANT! YOU QUESTION YOUR MASTER, THOUGH YOU LACK KNOWLEDGE OF THE SITUATION? YOU LOST SIGHT OF YOUR OWN INTENTIONS, AND DEFILED YOUR PATH WITH FABRICATIONS! I DID NOT LET HIM GO, HE ESCAPED, AND HE MUST BE STOPPED. HE IS A GLITCH WITHIN IN THE SYSTEM OF THE UNIVERSE, A MALFUNCTION OF ALL THAT IS, AND HE WILL DESTROY WHAT IS MINE.**_" It erupted with great wrath, howling down upon D-boy. He cowered from it, what was this all about? "Glitch... What does that even mean? Isn't Mr. Eff just a lowly parasite like me? How could he possibly affect that kind of balance so severely?!" He questioned profusely. Sure they moved on from their previous styrofoam forms, and he knew Mr. Eff could definitely be chaotic, but the idea of him being so destructive to something like the whole universe itself seemed highly unlikely. Although, he knew his Master was far more capable of knowing such things beyond his comprehension, so perhaps this wasn't as farfetched as he imagined...

"_**Indeed I placed him here to begin with, but I drained you both from that man's brain. He was a waste-lock, and after absorbing so much from him, you two are as well. Your 'type' aren't meant for this kind of subjection, and it tore out my connection with Johnny C. It got replaced with you specifically, of which I can't do anything useful with. This wouldn't have mattered at all, if it weren't for the fact that your partner somehow found a gap without my knowledge, and injected himself into the world again. Because of the materialization being solely based on what is within this realm, he proves to be quite the predicament, until he is returned to me.**_" It explained in great detail, and D-boy began to understand. He had little comprehension of 'waste-locks', but he did know of the basics. Though it told him of how Mr. Eff was a glitch, it still had yet to clarify why that was such an issue, which brought up another question.

"Couldn't we just wait until he died off naturally?" He asked. After all, he figured his Master wouldn't mind waiting through the years, it couldn't be too much longer than the time it was giving them currently, or anyone else. "_**No, we could not. As I just stated, his corporeal form's traits are taken from what is behind this wall, and I've witnessed it. You've taken a noticeable glance at your peculiarities. Your markings remain, the timeless injuries left upon your body, amongst other things. Haven't you ever wondered why that is?**_"

D-boy slowly sat back up, and traced the said scars once again. He did wonder about them, quite a bit, but what did it mean? "... Well, why is it?" He asked, actually rather curious of the reasoning. "_**With a lack of your own physical forms, you and the rest of my servants meld so easily into anything else that graces your disembodied states. That's how I got you into those inanimate objects so quickly. The only trace of existential beings here are humans, from the blood painted on that horrendous lock to keep the barrier up, and myself. You and your counterpart both bear**____**an incredible amount of myself inside of you, and the longer you spend in those bodies, the longer you'll meld with it. If I let him live, he will continue to live until he mutates into a creature quite similar to myself. Let me tell you, that does not sit well with a waste-lock, for keeping them dead is near impossible.**_" It stated. Now the outburst made sense to him... now a lot of things made sense. This not only meant what would happen for Mr. Eff, but it also meant that D-boy wouldn't be able to die. "_**Unless, of course... you returned him to me, I could reconfigure you both. You'd be able to depart from consciousness. Permanently.**_"

What could he possibly do? If he wanted to rest in fucking peace, he'd have to murder Mr. Eff, no question about it.

That was it, the only way. If he didn't, what would happen? Becoming a being like Master didn't seem like something Mr. Eff would mind; in fact he might just enjoy it. He always did want to be powerful, but it defeated the point of keeping his Master at bay. And yet...

"I'm afraid I have to turn down that command, Master. I refuse to kill Mr. Eff." D-boy may have to be forced to live, but whatever it meant for him, it at least meant his counterpart was alive, too. He promised him a life that he could enjoy and do whatever he wished, and he was determined to stand by it. "_**Tell me, servant, why are you so defensive for him?**_" His Master responded, surprisingly calm with his decision. "_**You don't think... he actually felt that way about you, do you?**_"

"I..." Mr. Eff admitted to his lie already, what would the point be carrying it on when D-boy knew? He had to be telling the truth. "I..." He repeated, squeezing his eyes shut. He thought about the time they spent together, he seemed sincere. But that was the thing. He _seemed _sincere. He could've gotten him figured out by then. D-boy's chest started to hurt...

"I _don't know!"_

"_**But I do.**_"

Could everything have just been a ruse? His confession, could that just have been nothing but a lie? D-boy had wanted his words to be true so badly, he became blinded from the truth, it would've been so simple for Mr. Eff to take advantage of his gullibility. "What if you're wrong, though? What if he wasn't lying?" He inquired, grasping for any kind of doubt. "_**Of course he was lying! You stabbed him after all, remember? He was desperate, and in the end, he succeeded. His influence overtook you, and you helped him not only strengthen the wall, but get you out of the way as well.**_"

He did remember, and Master brought up a good point. If that was the case, manipulating him would have been effortless, and he got what he wanted. The shift from wanting D-boy to stop bothering him to suddenly opening up to him was suspicious enough alone, but what was suspicious and what wasn't wouldn't determine the way with lies.

If he wanted D-boy to go along with his plan, he could say anything if he needed to...

Then it hit him, and his eyes shot back open. Yes, if Mr. Eff _needed _to! If he was lying, why _did _he confess such a thing to him at their neighbor's home? He hadn't any need to prove himself more, he was already going to the hospital, and when he returned D-boy was going to be presumably dead. It had the potential of still being false, yes, but Mr. Eff and him both shared the dislike of doing anything they didn't have to, and putting energy into giving D-boy some information that he'd render as useless would be on the last on his list. As far as D-boy was aware, his counterpart was a clean slate.

"On any other day, you'd be right. He's good enough to fool me, but he didn't." D-boy was firm on this belief, but even if it was Mr. Eff's intent to get him out of the way, there was nothing he could do now. It was hopeless, and his feelings on the matter were still true, whether his counterpart's were or not. "_**That doesn't matter. You're still a slave. Whether it's to him, or me.**_" It said as if stating a fact, and he began to fume. "I'm not anyone's slave, because you've got nothing on me. You can't bribe me because you can't kill me, and I can't die because _you _need _me _more than _**anything!"**_

It was quick, and unexpected. The pain was muted minimally due to the shock; as D-boy looked down to find a tentacle thicker than his arm, plunged straight through his chest. He simply watched as it slid back through the cavity and out his back, dragging many of his innards along with it. "_**It seems you have forgotten your place. Allow me to remind you of it.**_"

Before the blood could even leak onto the floor, his Master shoved its tentacle right back through the hole in his body. This time, he wasn't spared by the suddenness of it, and he let out a piercing scream. He could feel it grind against his broken spinal cord and ribcage. It kept the tentacle in and hoisted him up, turning him around to face it. It stared at him with hollow eyes; its several mouths wide open in a torrent of screeching in indistinguishable languages, its sheer mass filling up the abysmal area they were in as its uncountable amount of tentacles began to surround him.

"_**Traitor..**__**.**_"

The tentacles swirled around his body parts and proceeded to tear them off, one by one. First went his arms, then his legs, but it left his head be to hear his cries. Tears began racing down his face as fast as the blood poured out of him, gushing out of the ends where his limbs were moments ago.

"_**You belong to me, and only me. I am your Master. You can't run. You can't hide. All you can do is accept it, because that's what you were made for, to obey me.**_"

Much smaller tentacles began gathering around him. Once they were all positioned on different sections, the tips split open to reveal rows of fangs, and they gorged right into him. They squirmed all throughout his body, tearing apart his muscles and tendons, rupturing his organs and snapping apart his bones. The pain was excruciating, and what was left of his stomach simply couldn't endure it. A stream of upchuck shot out of his mouth, along with blood and the flesh that was torn apart from the inside. His screaming deteriorated to coughing now, as some of the tentacles rose up through his gullet and began choking him.

"_**YOU ARE AN OBJECT, DESIGNED TO DO MY BIDDING. YOU HAVE NO FREE WILL. YOU ARE NOT A PERSON. YOU ARE NOT EVEN A LIVING CREATURE. YOU HAVE NO LIFE TO END, BECAUSE YOU WERE NEVER BORN. THERE IS NO SOUL INSIDE OF YOU, NO PERSONALITY THAT WAS NOT MERELY DERIVED FROM THE LAST WASTE-LOCK, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A REAL NAME.**_"

What was left to view of the place beyond his Master's form began distorting. As the bodily fluids flooded what seemed to be an endless amount of space, the once completely black area began turning into a murky terra cotta, slowly gaining in contrast until it was a blinding red. It was enough to sting D-boy's eyes, but he couldn't even tell what was in pain by now. His entire body burned from the agony, as the room twisted and morphed in indescribable ways. He felt as if he was drowning, though the liquid had not reached him yet. The room began closing in on him.

"_**YOU. CAN. NEVER. ESCAPE. ME.**_"

All at once, it tore the tentacles out from his form. He was dropped, and fell onto a hardened surface again.

His body had been torn to shreds, but the blood had ceased coming out, like it dried up.

The pain had stopped. In fact, _all _feeling had stopped.

He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

"_**You'll receive one last thing to assist you. You'll know what to do. And slave...**_"

"Yes?" He asked, despondently. "_**Don't disappoint me again.**_"

D-boy jolted awake, finding himself back in the bedroom, strewn across the floor. He arose, and looked around.

Everything looked just as it did before, not one thing out of place aside from the gun across from him. He raised a shaking hand towards the side of his head, and brushed his hair out of the way to find a hole indented in him, and his skin partially singed. The hole wasn't bleeding, it wasn't even tender, it was just _there. _Like all the others...

He arose to his feet, not even caring to pick his fallen hat back up. He had his mind set on only one thing.

He had a job to do, and he was going to finish it. No matter what.


	10. Loving You Is Suicide

The first few days in the hospital Eff still felt horrible. Granted, he would have been worse back at home, and he didn't feel like he was about to die, but it still wasn't exactly pleasant. The medicine often made him dizzy or drowsy, since the doctors had to give him stronger medicine due to how severe his injury and illness had been. Even with the medicine, there was still a notable pain throughout his body. Although, this pain was much more bearable than it had been. Eff would have probably died in mere days if he hadn't gotten to the hospital. Nurses and doctors kept telling him how lucky he was to get here when he did, and how it was a miracle he even lived for so long without the proper care. Eff didn't really believe in this luck he had. It was no miracle that he lived; it was D-boy's care that allowed him to survive. He even had called the ambulance after all. Eff didn't bother to mention his companion to the doctors and nurses but their belief in unrealistic luck and miracles was indeed stupid.

When Eff was finally able to move his arm again, the doctors insisted on him doing exercises with it. It wasn't like he had to lift weights or anything, since too much movement or pressure would probably pull or tear at his stitches. They were merely things like making a fist over and over (or at least attempting to) and touching each of his fingers to his thumb. Despite it being a bit painful to move his arm again, Eff did so willingly, more than happy to have movement back into his limb.

The doctors also had him start walks around the hospital, since it was more than obvious that his legs were used much recently. Of course there was always a nurse walking with him for assistance. Eff wasn't all that fond of walks, but he did his best to hold back any arguments. There were actually a lot of things Eff would prefer not doing at the hospital, like bathing or wearing the weird hospital robe or having to eat things that weren't from a bakery. But Eff was more cooperative than usual, due to some thoughts. These people wanted nothing but to help him get better. They helped him walk, eat, bathe, and even use the restroom, and they were awfully polite about it too! Even if Eff wanted to fight back or lash out at them, he was in no condition to do so. He was either too tired or weak, so Eff just had to deal with the exercise, food variety, and awkward wardrobe. But when it came to other patients, Eff didn't speak to them at all, or even gave them a glance. To him, they were annoying parasites taking away the doctors and nurses attention from him. Or at least they tried. The hospital was nice enough to give him this neat button to press whenever something was amiss, and Eff never hesitated to press it. He kept all his nurses and doctors on their toes and informed them about every single problem he noticed. Every. Single. Problem.

It had been about a week in the hospital, and regardless of all the things that had been happening to him, Eff couldn't help but to think about his companion. He managed to do so every day. Whenever he got a moment to himself or refused to sleep he wondered how D-boy was doing. Several questions always swirled in his head. Was he still alive? Did he paint the wall yet? Would he actually go through with betraying his master? Will he kill himself? Will he be dead when Eff returned home? And if he wasn't pondering about D-boy, Eff would simply miss him. Missing someone felt horrible. It felt like there was some sort of void in your chest that wouldn't be satisfied without being with your companion. Eff tried his best not to be sad but... when he thought about living without D-boy, it was indeed saddening. Who knew that in the end Eff actually would want to spend his life with his counterpart! It would be so much easier to live without him and his complaining and dislike of murder after all! But recently, Eff would prefer his presence to be around. It gave him a unique happiness to be with D-boy; probably because of all the talking and chatting they did while he was ill. It was such a shame not to be able to live with his companion after admitting his love as well. At least Eff knew that if D-boy killed himself he would be happy. As selfish as Eff could be, D-boy's happiness may be the one thing he wouldn't mind to put in front of his own. As long as D-boy was happy, Eff should be happy. Of course, it might take a while to get used to not being around his companion, but maybe Eff would get used to it and eventually manage. But as of now, being without D-boy was... rather depressing, ironically.

Often times at night Eff found himself struggling to stay awake. He tried to use the TV to help keep himself up, but the nurses insisted that the volume had to stay low due to other patients trying to sleep. Eff knew he would benefit from sleep in his state, but the nightmares were terrifying enough to discourage such a thing. He still had many fears, mainly based around his Master, and while the threat of death was at bay, his dreams were more than convincing that it wasn't. He had night terrors every night since he had got here. While nurses always rushed in to wake him up from them, they couldn't offer a pill to get rid of them. So Eff had no choice but to stay up as long as he could, hoping another nightmare wouldn't plague him if he happened to fall asleep. Sadly, Eff eventually did slip into unconsciousness. TV and will power were of no use in his condition, and his nightmares were going to show him anything but mercy tonight.

It was dark. At first Eff figured that this dream would have nothing but darkness in it. He wouldn't mind if it did. It was pitch black, but then a figure appeared in the darkness. He recognized him immediately. It was D-boy. Eff was a little befuddled at the sight. Usually when his dreams included D-boy, it was about that night when he had been stabbed. But as of right now, D-boy was just standing there. Eff stared at him intently. His dear companion looked rather... afraid. He was trying to hide it, but there was fear in his features. D-boy also appeared to be speaking. Though Eff wasn't able to hear a word, he was able to see his mouth move. Being as that D-boy hadn't made eye contact with him, Eff guessed that he wasn't talking to him. And if that was the case, then who was he talking to?

Eff looked up behind D-boy, and immediately regretted his decision. He saw the thing he feared most. A mass of writing tentacles, monstrous faces, clawed limbs and a bunch of other terrifying things mortals could never understand; behind D-boy was their _Master. _Eff let out a cry at the sight, but immediately covered his mouth to prevent the sound. He now knew way his dear companion looked so distressed, and now he himself was trembling with fear.

Though, after a few moments being filled with dread, nothing particularly bad had happened. In fact, Eff noticed that none of his Master's eyes were focused on him. He soon realized that all eyes were on D-boy instead. Eff gulped and returned his gaze to his companion. He was concerned for his companion, but wasn't brave enough to move or speak at the moment. Eff merely watched. He was witnessing a conversation between the two, yet he couldn't hear anything that was being said. Seemingly out of nowhere, a tentacle grabbed D-boy, slamming him into what must have been some sort of unseen 'ground'.

Eff opened his mouth to call out to D-boy to see if he was okay, and he intended to move by his side to help him up, but no sound came out of his mouth and it seemed he was unable to move. Eff's heart sank and quickly looked himself over. There were no tentacles around him preventing movement, which was a relief, but that didn't change the fact he couldn't move from his spot. He sympathetically looked at his counterpart. Having many nightmares similar to this one, he almost knew exactly what he might be feeling, and what he was going to feel. Eff only hoped it wouldn't go to the extreme that his nightmares often did. Maybe Master had more mercy for his more loyal servant. Eff hoped so, for D-boy's sake.

For a while D-boy just spoke with their Master. Eff may not be able to hear the conversation, but he still watched with great interest and prayed D-boy would be smart enough to not provoke Master's wrath upon him. D-boy eventually sat back up again, and the unheard conversation went on for minutes. Even without words, Eff found what he was seeing interesting. He mostly kept his eyes on D-boy, watching his facial expression. Curiosity, frustration, bitterness and anger, all mixed in with a bit a fear.

Without warning, a tentacle went straight through D-boy's chest broke through his back. Eff's heart skipped a beat at the sight. What idiotic thing would D-boy possibly say to irritate their Master?! Or perhaps their Master was just that cruel that he didn't need a reason to torment his loyal servant. Eff watched as their Master pulled the tentacle out of D-boy and shoved it right back into the wound. Then Eff finally heard something: a loud, agonized scream. As much as Eff would have liked to hear whatever they had been talking about, he would rather cut out his own eardrums with a rusty knife than hear D-boy's pained screams.

Again he opened his mouth to emit his own cries, but no sound came from him. Eff struggled to move as he saw tentacles swirl around D-boy. As much as he feared their Master, he wanted nothing but to protect his companion from him. He almost wanted to take his place. His efforts were useless though, as he still couldn't move. All he could do was watch as their Master tear off each one of D-boy's limbs, see the blood spill, and listen to his screams. That's all Eff heard: D-boy's screams, each one was more agonizing than the last. He silently begged his Master to stop, but it only got worse. Just like in every nightmare he had, the torment grew worse. More tentacles gathered around D-boy, and began to tear whatever was left of him. Eff became sick to his stomach at the sight. This was more gruesome than what he did in the basement, and out of all the people that were being tortured it was someone he actually cared about. As much as he wanted to look away or close his eyes he couldn't. Even if he could, he would still hear D-boy's cries.

Finally Eff was able to cry out, but when his eyes opened he only saw a blurred nurse at his side trying to wake him up. He was trenched with sweat and tears streamed down his face. His throat felt raw and sore as if he had been screaming for hours. He now understood that what he had just experienced was just some fucked up nightmare, but it seemed different from his usual ones. This time he wasn't the one being tormented, D-boy was. It seemed real too, but most of his nightmares had a real feeling to him. Eff just couldn't shake the sound of D-boy screaming from his head, as if the sound was permanently burned into his brain. After he managed to calm down enough to speak, he explained to the nurse that he had just another nightmare. While it wasn't 'just another nightmare' to Eff, he wasn't going to give the nurse any details. Like all his nightmares, he kept it to himself and hoped that he would manage not to experience anything like it ever again. Eff hated his nightmares, and being the victim in them was unpleasant, but seeing D-boy go through such pain and to hear it as well... Eff would rather have been in his place. At least he was used to that sort of dream. Just seeing his companion be hurt like that... it was... something else entirely.

After a while Eff's condition improved greatly. Despite his constant nightmares, the illness and infection were taken care of. Eff had gotten used to walking regularly again, and using his injured arm. Movement was limited due to the stitches, and his arm wasn't very strong and didn't react as fast as it should, but it was a great improvement from being completely limp and dead. He also started to eat more (yes, even the vegetables) since his appetite had returned as well.

Though, as Eff started to feel better he noticed some things that seemed a little peculiar at the hospital. Both doctors and nurses were oddly nervous around him. Eff didn't see why they would be afraid of him, since he had done nothing to provoke any fear, but he didn't give it much thought as long as they continued to help him. He also noticed that other patients started avoiding him completely. Eff didn't mind this at all since he wanted nothing to do with them. There also seemed to be more fights around him, whether it was between doctors or nurses or patients, Eff heard a lot of yelling outside of his room than usual. It was irritating at times, but at least it was still quiet at night and at least the nurses managed to still be polite towards him. Eff didn't really care about anything strange around him. At this point, he only cared about getting home, and started asking the doctors every day if he was well enough to leave.

The day finally came when he could leave. It had been a little over two weeks, and Eff was more than eager to return home and continue his life. Even if it was a life alone, at least it wasn't in the hospital. The doctors gave him a bag of medicine to take with him and written instructions of how and when to take them. Since they had to dispose of the clothing he arrived with, they gave him some donated clothes to wear. (Hospital robes aren't necessary supposed to be worn outside, after all.) It was just some basic clothing: a black and white striped sweater and some jeans. They fitted surprisingly easy due to the fact Eff had lost some weight while he was ill, and when he was at the hospital the doctors had controlled his diet. After Eff had told them that he didn't have a ride home either, the doctors arranged a taxi to pick him up. Eff wanted to go home so badly that he didn't care if he had to walk home, and it seemed that the hospital staff was a little eager to push him out the doors as well.

Eff happily sat down in the backseat of the taxi, nearly grinning from ear to ear. There was a lot to be happy about, even if he lived in a shit shack. Mostly he was happy about continuing his existence. "Where to?" The driver asked, giving Eff a glance. Eff paused for a moment. He didn't exactly know the address of Nny's house. "... Just drive. I'll tell you where to go." Eff hoped he could manage to remember how to get home after being in the hospital for so long. The driver merely shrugged and drove off. The drive took several minutes of Eff telling him whether to go left or right or down a road. As the drive continued though, the driver seemed to get more and more nervous. He kept asking questions like 'did you say something?', 'are you whispering?' and 'can you speak up?'. Eff had no idea why he did, since he wasn't whispering or talking to himself and when he did actually speak to the driver he made sure to speak clearly. And whenever Eff really did speak up, the driver almost jumped in his seat.

Eventually they arrived at house #777. Eff told the driver this was the place, so they stopped in front of the house. The driver glanced at the machine he had on the dashboard that told him how much the passenger owed them. "That'll be-" Midsentence his gaze went to the rear-view mirror to look at Eff. He suddenly let out a screech that even made Eff jump out of surprise. "W-what?!" Eff asked and stared at the driver with confusion and annoyance. His hand was already on the door handle of the car, ready to open it at any given moment. The driver turned to look at Eff, and then quickly turned back around. "N-n-nothing! The ride is f-free! You can go now!" The driver said, not even bothering to mask his fear or nervousness. Eff rolled his eyes.

Everyone seemed to be unreasonably afraid of him for whatever reason recently. It didn't really matter due to his 'profession' but it was annoying when he didn't even do anything. Regardless, he exited the car, and as soon as he closed the door the taxi sped off with screeching tires. It was only for a moment, but through the rear-view mirror the driver had seen Eff as a horrible, indescribable _thing._

Eff paused to look at the house. It was... still there, which would mean that their Master hasn't escaped, D-boy had painted the wall, and D-boy killed himself. Eff could feel a frown trying to tug at his current smile, but he didn't allow himself to change expressions. He should be happy after all! Happy to be alive and existing! D-boy kept his end of the promise too, so there were more than enough reasons to be happy. With these thoughts in mind he walked up to the house and opened the door. (Did this door even have a lock?) As soon as he walked in the house though, he saw something, or someone rather, that should not have been there… alive at least. Right there, in the living room, was his companion. "...D... D-boy?" He stuttered in shock, nearly dropping the bag of medicine he was holding.

D-boy didn't know how long he'd been sitting in the living room, or how long he'd even been reawakened back to the mortal plain of existence. He didn't care. He just knew he had to wait, so wait he did.

His empty stomach growled from lack of any nourishment for days, and his head ached from no sleep. Even his skin had grown oily, as he hadn't even thought about a bath. He refused them. Like Master said, he was an object. He didn't need these things, all he needed to do was to complete his assigned job, and that was it. So he continued to wait, as his body hankered for him to attend to it.

He wanted to get this over with already, for everything to finally stop. It just... wasn't worth it. No matter what decision he made, there was a possibility of his counterpart getting hurt, so he might as well pick the one where there was a chance they could avoid the incoming pain. He was still exhausted from his correction, and he shuddered with the memory of it still fresh in his mind. He still had to check that his limbs were all still there, and he felt sick just thinking about the tentacles that were writhing inside him, the hunger pangs really were not helping. He didn't want Mr. Eff to ever have to go through that- he was _terrible _with pain, so even if it meant that he had to cut his life short, so be it.

And with the sound of the front door opening, it seemed his waiting had ended.

His sight slid over and fixated on the doorway. In walked Mr. Eff, surprised to see D-boy without a doubt, seeing as he was still alive. D-boy stared at him. Though he had expected him all this time, he couldn't shake off this feeling of uneasiness. It wasn't like the guilt that overcame him, he had gotten used to that. It was the same fear that he experienced from looking into his Master's eyes, and he became petrified once again now that it was radiating from his own counterpart. He gripped the cushion he was seated upon, and darted his eyes back down. Master stated that they both had remnants of it residing in both of their forms, and perhaps Mr. Eff's was appearing much faster than he had hoped.

It put the idea down even firmer in D-boy's thoughts now, that his counterpart unfortunately had to be exterminated, but it was what he had to do. His Master's bidding was his purpose, after all...

Eff blinked a few times, and D-boy stayed there after each blink. He just couldn't believe it! Why was D-boy still alive? Did he not paint the wall? Well, if he hadn't, surely the world would have gone to shit by now. Maybe he did paint the wall, but wasn't able to kill himself? While it was unlikely, especially for someone like D-boy, it was the closest thing to a logical explanation Eff could think of. "D-boy... why aren't you dead?" Eff asked with curiosity. He then paused, thinking he should reword his question. "...Why didn't you kill yourself?" He asked a much less insulting question.

Eff walked towards D-boy hesitantly, as if somehow his companion would disappear if he walked too quickly. Eff realized that this could also be a dream. He stopped in place at that thought. If this was a dream, it would end up becoming a horrible nightmare. At the same time though, he wanted to be with D-boy. If this wasn't a dream and he was still actually alive, this could provide an opportunity to spend more time with his dear companion. Even if it was only a few moments to help D-boy end his life, Eff wouldn't mind spending any amount of time with D-boy he hadn't expected.

He carelessly tossed the bag of medicine on the coffee table. "If you... uh... want me to help you kill yourself, I can." Eff offered. Really he wanted to embrace D-boy and hold him tight and tell him how much he missed him, but that thought of this might being a nightmare from earlier prevented him from moving any closer to his companion.

As he waited for a reply he carefully looked over D-boy's features. It appeared that he had been sitting there for a while. His spot on the couch was quite sunken in. It also seemed that he hadn't bathed in a while, which was very unlike D-boy. Usually he was pretty decent on taking care of his hygiene. Maybe he was stuck there because he couldn't manage to kill himself. Maybe he had been waiting for Eff before he killed himself? As nice as the thought was, there was no way for Eff to know what was going on with D-boy without a response. He then noticed that D-boy looked uneasy as well. Just like everyone else he had interacted with recently, D-boy had fear in his eyes. This was a little disappointing because if there was anyone that Eff didn't want to fear him, it was D-boy.

D-boy remained silent as Mr. Eff questioned him, moving closer rather hesitantly. It was harrowing, hearing him ask such things, especially his suggestion in assistance. He would absolutely love for that to happen, he would love to just spend any kind of time with Mr. Eff right now, but it would interrupt his task of bringing him along. He had to do it, and make it quick. It was time for him to utilize the ability his Master bestowed upon him.

He stood up; his legs weary from his long period of no movement, and walked towards Mr. Eff. He placed his hands on his shoulders, and gripped them tightly, making sure he was kept still. Locking eyes with his counterpart, he concentrated hard. His own eyes began to give off a faint blue glow, accenting their luminosity brightly. The normally still spirals within his eyes began to rotate, twisting in an entrancing and unnatural fashion, as he attempted to hypnotize his counterpart.

D-boy didn't answer him, which only made Eff worry more. Surely D-boy had heard him. Eff's voice was hard not to be heard after all. "D-boy?" He called out to his companion as he stood up, hoping to get a response. Eff instinctively took a step back, half worrying about this being a nightmare. But the other half hoping it was a harmless reality kept him in place.

Eff at first winced when D-boy placed his hands on his shoulders. He hadn't expected him to grip tightly, so with he did Eff let out a screech of pain. He immediately started to struggle against D-boy's grip. "D-boy, let go! T-that hurts!" He cried. Maybe D-boy had forgotten for the moment where Eff's injury was.

At first Eff struggled violently to break free, but the movement pulled at his stitches. Not wanting his stitches to rip, Eff stopped for the moment. He frowned with disapproval and glared right into D-boy's eyes. Little did he know this was a mistake.

Eff had moved his hands to try to push D-boy away and opened his mouth to protest once again. But no words managed to come out, and the shove at his counterpart's torso was rather pathetic. He had meant to tell D-boy to let him go again, or at least loosen his god damn grip, but he hadn't managed a single syllable before his mouth closed again. Eff was rather confused why he wasn't able to speak even though he wanted to so greatly. His thoughts went right back to his nightmares. In many of them he was unable to speak, but the one he remembered at this moment was the one where he saw D-boy being torn to death at their Master's tentacles. This evoked a lot of fear and sadness in him, and he felt himself begin to tremble with emotions. Eff's eyes started to tear up in both physical and emotional pain. His arms dropped back to his sides, no longer feeling like trying to push away his counterpart.

Eff noticed he had been staring at D-boy's eyes, and he wanted to look away, if to at least hide his pain. For some reason, he couldn't. He couldn't move his neck, or his eyes themselves. They seemed to be locked onto D-boy's somehow.

Eff then felt panic, realizing he couldn't move either. This really did seem to be another one of his nightmares, until he noticed how the spirals in D-boy's eyes were rotating. It was odd; oddly captivating, even! But Eff knew this wasn't something D-boy's eyes normally did. Despite all the fear and sadness he was feeling at the moment, Eff realized something. D-boy was hypnotizing him. That would explain his inability to speak and move! So it was still possible that this may not be a nightmare, but the situation did seem to follow the pattern of one. Either way, Eff wasn't just going to stand here and _let _D-boy hypnotize him! Hell fucking no!

For a moment he broke out of his pitiful sad feeling, and felt the urgency to resist and fight back. He tried pulling away with his good shoulder, and lifted his arms again to push D-boy away. While he let out a grunt with the effort, his resistance was not at all as strong as he would have liked it to be. He still tried several times, but no matter how hard he tried the result was the same. D-boy didn't budge, and their eyes were still locked.

It was at this point where Eff became discouraged again. This time the sadness came as a heavy depression. His eyes teared up once again and overflowed onto his cheeks. It was horribly pointless to resist! Whether he liked it or not, D-boy was keeping Eff still and Eff didn't have the energy or will to do anything. Hell, he wasn't even in the right mood! This depression he was feeling was terribly strong and ate away at his will as much as the hypnotizing did. The only sound he managed to make was a single quiet sob. Eff couldn't help but to wonder why exactly D-boy was doing this. What on earth would he gain from hypnotizing him?! Eff already wanted to help him die, so what else could D-boy possibly want? Eff wanted to ask all of these questions out loud, but when his mouth opened only a single word came out. "Why...?" He whispered.

As D-boy anticipated, Mr. Eff had begun struggling, attempting to free himself of his grip. To his presumed distaste, D-boy had refused to let go, tightening his grasp until their eyes met long enough for the ability to be set into motion. Mr. Eff's fighting decreased post-haste, and even as he tried to shove him away, it only resulted in a pitiful push. His hands fell limp to his sides, and although he did try again, breaking only for a moment, he was unable to tear himself away.

This was D-boy's cue, and he took the lead.

He felt a tinge of sadness tug at him as Mr. Eff started to tear up, such a look of misery didn't suit the manic one of the two.

Though he wanted to wipe the tears away from his face, he had another target for his movements. With his counterpart now helpless against anything he did, he traced his hands up from the shoulders, and towards his neck.

It really did hurt when Mr. Eff managed to speak out, even under the influence of the powers Master had given him.

It was only one word, but it stung knowing he could still mutter it. That was the doughboy that he fell in love with, the one that was so headstrong he could even try to perceiver something like this. It really was unfortunate he wouldn't succeed.

He clenched his hands around his neck, and choked him. He did so as tightly as he could, to end it with quickly.

He waited. Though his pressure was harsh, it seemed Mr. Eff wasn't going down as easily as planned. It was evident he was losing breath, yes, but he was sure nearly a minute had passed and yet he remained awake and alive. Was something preventing vascular obstruction? He thought perhaps his hands were placed incorrectly, or maybe it had something to do with the bizarre scarring that decorated both of their throats equally. Glancing down to check was tempting, but he knew he couldn't break their eye contact. He began to panic on what to do.

He loosened his grip considerably, to give himself an instant to think. It wasted time, but this method didn't appear to be working. In fact, he hadn't really thought of a plan at all, only to make it fast. This was just a miserable spur of the moment.

He could dash for a weapon of some kind, but that would give him ample time to escape. He could beat him up again, but he didn't know how much Mr. Eff had healed, he only walked in the door a short while ago. For all D-boy knew, he could easily fight back. This was so frustrating, why did it have to be like this? All he wanted was to commit suicide, not drag his partner down with him! Even if he deserved to die...

D-boy slowly released his grasp on him, allowing his hands to slink back down to his own sides, as he continued to stare at his hapless counterpart. What to do with him was becoming as much of a predicament as it was before, even with his insistent morals depleted and the capability to fucking _hypnotize _him. They were both hopeless, and he knew that he couldn't keep this trance on Mr. Eff forever. Sooner or later, at least one of them would have to end up dead.

A familiar feeling began to return to D-boy. An emotion that arose quite quickly, and conquered his current despair.

His eyebrows furrowed, and his frown intensified. He clenched his fists as his dismayed expression was immediately replaced with a scowl. He felt angry, and he felt it **bad. **This... was Mr. Eff's fault. It was _entirely _Mr. Eff's fault. They wouldn't be in this horrible situation if it wasn't for him. If only he stayed behind that _**Goddamned wall!**_

But NO! He had to LEAVE! HE HAD TO _FUCK EVERYTHING UP, _AND THEY WERE STUCK LIKE THIS!

AND FOR HOW LONG? HOW MUCH MORE COULD HE CONCENTRATE NOW, WITH HIS BLOOD BOILING WITHIN HIS FUCKING VEINS, THAT WERE ALSO MR. EFF'S FAULT. HIS ENTIRE PHYSICAL FORM WAS HIS FAULT, _EVERYTHING _WAS HIS FAULT. WHY DID HE EVER HAVE TO EXIST? EVERYTHING HE'D EVER DONE SOMEHOW ENDED UP KICKING D-BOY IN THE ASS, AS IF LIFE ITSELF WASN'T HARD ENOUGH.

HE HAD ONE JOB. **ONE. FUCKING. JOB. **AND BECAUSE OF MR. EFF, HE WAS GOING TO FAIL IT FOR A THIRD TIME.

FUCKETY FUCKERING FUCK! HE WENT THROUGH HELL AND BACK BECAUSE OF HIS COUNTERPART, HE EXPERIENCED GUILT AND GRIEF AND WHATEVER VARIETY OF EMOTIONS STRUCK HIM OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, HE BETRAYED HIS MASTER AND GOT LITERALLY TORN APART FOR IT, ALL BECAUSE OF HIM AND HIS STUPID FUCKING SELF!

AND HE DIDN'T-

... He didn't...

He didn't even... know... if it was all for a facade, or not.

Though he stood there silently quaking in his rage that nearly lost him the connection, he focused as hard as he could on the deep, crimson eyes of his counterpart. If he was going to fail again, he might as well find out if it was worth it.

"Tell me the truth." He ordered, as calmly as he could. "Mr. Eff... when you first confessed, did you lie to me?"

Eff felt D-boy's hands move from his shoulders to his neck. Immediately, he knew what his intention was, but the question still stood: Why? Why had D-boy hypnotized him? Why was he trying to kill him? He had promised him a life, after all! Why was his companion breaking this promise?! Usually Eff was the one lying and deceiving, and now it seems that D-boy has gone to his level of manipulation to get what he wants. Perhaps D-boy wanted him dead all along. That had been his job, after all! But after all the conversations and weeks without fighting with one another... Eff was sure he had changed. Eff was more than convinced that D-boy loved him as much as he did! Which went right back to the question: Why?

Eff didn't get his answer. D-boy's hands harshly gripped around his neck and proceeded to choke him. Only on instinct did he gasp for air, which made very pitiful noises along with his attempts at sobbing. Normally a person who was being choked would lift up their hands to grab at the attacker's hands to try and loosen the grip, but Eff did no such thing. The influence D-boy had on him was strong and steady, and he literally couldn't do a thing about his counterpart's attempt to choke him to death. If D-boy honestly wanted to kill him, and didn't love him, then what was the point of living anyways?

Despite a minute passing, Eff hadn't lost consciousness. His heart was pounding, working harder to get blood to his brain, and his lungs were desperate for air as they were lacking a considerable amount, but Eff was still very much alive and awake. Maybe D-boy's hands weren't exactly in the right spot for choking. That wouldn't be much of a surprise, as D-boy did lack experience at killing anyone other than himself.

Then D-boy loosened the grip on Eff's neck. His arms even returned to his sides! It was a goddamn miracle! Eff's gasps finally succeeded in supplying the proper amount of air. Had D-boy reconsidered killing Eff? If he did, then perhaps D-boy loved him after all. Despite being hypnotized and miserable, Eff was still able to read a considerable amount of emotion from D-boy's eyes. He looked as if he was full of guilt, but it was soon replaced with an infuriated glare. Eff felt like he was back at square one, having no clue what was going on in his older counterpart's head. At least for the moment, he could breathe.

Time seemed to slow down as it was silent. D-boy hadn't done anything to hurt or kill Eff as of yet either. All Eff could do was wait, and feel beyond depressed. For all he knew, D-boy was probably thinking of some other way to end him. If choking didn't work, there were many other options! Eff knew that there were endless ways to kill someone, and all D-boy had to do was think of it!

Then, D-boy finally spoke. 'Tell me the truth. Mr. Eff... When you first confessed, did you lie to me?'

This was about the worst thing D-boy could ask him and Eff knew it! As much as he didn't want to reply, as much as he didn't want his dear companion to know, his mouth opened against his will and he couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth. "Y-y-yesss..." He despondently sobbed a reply. "M-my ffirssst confession w-wasss a _lie!" _Eff cried out. His fight to not respond to the question only ended up in him slurring his words a little and a lot of stuttering. This was indeed the truth. When Eff had first confessed his feelings for D-boy it was only to manipulate him. But as time went on, ironically, his lie slowly became the truth. Eff really did love D-boy, and he wanted D- boy to know that. And as much as he wanted to say these things, to let D-boy know the _full _truth, the only thing that came out of him now was loud sobs and a lot of tears. Eff was well aware of what he had told D-boy, and how much it would hurt him, and that made him more miserable than any hypnosis.

Well... of course. What was D-boy expecting? Though he wanted a 'no' so dearly, he knew the untainted truth, the moment Mr. Eff spoke of his 'feelings' the first time. No one could ever like him, especially not his counterpart. He was the epitome of depression, and now he, too, was feeling that same influence. Master was right, no matter how authentic Mr. Eff's words were, the mass of them were false, decorated to sound like what you want to hear. Though it should've been obvious to him, he still felt hurt. It was humiliating, that Mr. Eff had all this knowledge of things he imagined he'd never say even to himself. He knew just how much D-boy loved him, how long he felt that way, and he couldn't take any of it back. He regretted whatever convinced him that Mr. Eff could be trusted.

His concentration finally broke, as tears filled up his eyes. His arms stiffened and his hands balled up into fists, as he glared at the boy who was mere inches from him. No longer was his mission on his mind, he wanted to make him hurt, as much as it wasted glorious pain. Perhaps he really had started to become the homicidal maniac he despised.

"I HATE YOU!" He shouted, as he drew his arm back and twist-punched Mr. Eff square in the face, knocking him back. "YOU WRETCHED WASTE OF SPACE! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE BEEN SO SHORT-SIGHTED!" Tears streamed down his blushing face, red with ire. "How could I put my trust into someone so vile? You're just another one of these things that make this infested world so much more worthy of being obliterated!" Rather than getting closer, he began to back up, crossing his arms across his chest and holding himself. "And so am I... In fact, especially I. Though I should've known this would be the results, I ignored it, like a blind fool walking straight off of a cliff. And I did _willingly." _Soon enough, he was sobbing with no attempts to restrain it. One hand supporting his elbow, the other pressed against his face as his gaze went towards the floor.

"I'm so pathetic..." He muttered to himself.

A notable crack was heard when D-boy's hand met Eff's face. Eff was knocked backwards with a lot of force and landed hard on his back. While he was free from the hypnosis, he was far from being okay. The room spun and spun, making Eff dizzy and his head hurt. He tried to get up, but all his muscles were sore and weakened from being held still for so long. Eff was unable to get up off the ground for the moment. All he could do was listen to D-boy's rant and feel a warm liquid seep out of his probably busted nose.

Eff was still crying as well, but he kept himself quiet to listen to what D-boy had to say. Silently he agreed with his companion on how vile he was. Usually such insults would be countered, but Eff didn't want to fight with D-boy at all. He just wanted to make things right. Or at least... he wanted D-boy to know that he loved him.

"I'm... I'm s-sorry..." Eff started, holding back his own sobs. He made a second attempt at getting up off the ground. This time he managed to sit up, but he had to hold his head since the room was still spinning. "I did lie... yes... and I'm sorry..." He repeated, not bothering to wipe the tears or blood off of his face. "I should have told you earlier... O-or I... shouldn't have lied to begin with..." Eff hoped D-boy was listening. He understood if he wasn't, but he really wanted his dear companion to hear this. "But if... i-if it wasn't for that first lie, I don't think I would have felt anything for you in the first place." It was ironically true. The lie caused their fight in the basement. The fight resulted in Eff's injury. Eff's injury made D-boy take care of him. And somewhere in all that crap, Eff began to actually like his counterpart. "While I _had _lied, recently I've been truthful with you. My feelings _aren't _fabrications like they once were. They _are _real..." Eff paused, frowning at a realization. "Though, after you made me tell you the truth, you may not believe me." He managed to lift his head and focus on his weeping counterpart.

Eff wanted to look him in the eyes (despite how it was a bad idea earlier) and let D-boy know that he meant what he said. "My feelings are why I wanted you to kill yourself. I knew you would be happier dead than with me. I knew you longed to end your existence..." Eff had to hold back another sob. "B-but when I came home you were still alive! And you tried to kill me just now, so I'm not sure what the hell you want anymore!" He raised his voice in mix of confusion and sadness, but he wasn't exactly angry at D-boy. Eff was more frustrated at the fact that he didn't know how to make D-boy happy. "S-so, to 'prove' myself—to prove that I _do _love you, I'm going to allow it; I'm going to let you kill me if you want to kill me! If you just want to beat me for being such a _lying, vile, wretched _waste of space, then go for it! I don't care as long as you finally satisfied!" Eff cried out, finally letting himself sob. He finally said what he wanted to say; now all he had to do was wait to see what D-boy wanted.

As D-boy stood there and fumed, anger directed at both Mr. Eff and himself, he nearly missed the fact that his counterpart spoke up. He'd ask him to repeat, but as it appeared he was continuing, D-boy kept his mouth shut to listen to what he had to say for himself, if anything at all.

He apologized... that would be considered a good start. D-boy's sobs died down as he listened to Mr. Eff explain, and his fury slowly resided along with them. He again admitted to lying, despite no longer being under hypnosis, and with that he stated that his feelings were, indeed, real.

He was damn right D-boy didn't believe him, or at least was suspicious. This could've just another fucking trick again, and he was on guard for any potentials of that idea. When he raised his head to look at him, he simply glared straight back down, until he continued.

He would be happier dead, much more so than alive, whether Mr. Eff was in the picture or not. Living just wasn't something he particularly fancied, even if they were together. He was, however, the closest D-boy had ever come to 'enjoying' it...

He winced when Mr. Eff raised his voice. It was no doubt this was a confusing situation for him to be in.

He got absolutely no explanation at all; D-boy just darted at him. What an embarrassing ordeal. Especially when Mr. Eff appeared to have it all wrong, D-boy knew he had to step in and give some kind of clarification.

"I _don't _want to kill you." He said, his voice raspy from the screaming and crying. "I want you to live, but that's not my decision to make. It's Master's, and it's necessary that your life ends, whether either of us want it or not. There's something wrong with us, I mean, with our actual existence. We're not meant to be here, Mr. Eff. These physical forms are doomed."

He tried hard to recall the conversation with his Master, as it was difficult with it being clouded by that dreadful experience the most. "Master told me how you escaped, and it was a terrible idea. We're both riddled with substances that we aren't meant to have, and the longer we remain here, the more it will consume us until we're something equivalent to what Master is itself."

D-boy wasn't sure how Mr. Eff would feel about all this, but he highly discouraged against the idea of them staying. Anymore difficulties preventing his own death was far too many, and he really didn't care if Mr. Eff was against that. He still felt burning resentment towards the younger counterpart, even with his explanation. He didn't know what to believe anymore, that even his acceptance of what had to be done wasn't convincing enough to prove anything to D-boy.

It was a relief to hear that D-boy didn't want to kill him, but it was a big disappointment to hear that he needed to kill him for his Master. Of course that pile of dumb tentacles was involved. Eff should have suspected it earlier. He should have never doubted D-boy! Besides, after being away for so long to not distract him from his Master, D-boy probably had plenty of time to 're-associate' with him. Naturally he wanted to talk back right away, but Eff waited until his counterpart was done speaking before speaking up himself.

Eff finally wiped off the blood off of his face, and sniffed whatever was left. It put a copper taste in his mouth, but at the moment he didn't care. This time he attempted to stand up. Eff seemed to be a bit off balanced and wobbly, but he managed to get to his feet. "I don't see how turning into a monster like your Master would be considered 'doomed'." He stated. Honestly, it sounded sort of fun. "It just seems more like a thing Master just doesn't want to happen." Eff wasn't exactly arguing with D-boy, but he did indeed disagree with their Master's 'reasoning' for wanting them to die.

"D-boy I know how much you like being loyal to your Master, and I knew that us... existing here, wasn't exactly a thing that was supposed to happen but..." Eff sighed, pausing to think. The last thing he wanted to do was to start a fight with his counterpart, so he had to be careful with his words. "Look, I just want you to think for a moment that... what if what Master told you was a lie? I mean, do you honestly think that we'll actually become like that thing? How likely do you think that is?" He questioned. "And really, we both know that I'm a goddamn liar, but who the hell do you think gave me the power to be so deceiving? Master, without a doubt! Master is probably a bigger liar than I am! It's just using you to get what it wants, and all I fucking want is for you to be happy for damn once!" Eff was indeed a bit loud, just to emphasis his point, but he didn't shout at D-boy. "Even if you have to end your existence to be happy, then go ahead and kill yourself! I don't... mind..."

Eff frowned a bit, feeling his heart drop. He did mind a little, honestly. He would like to spend more time with D-boy, but at the same time he knew D-boy would be more miserable if he had to stay alive longer. That thought then brought up another question in Eff's mind. Without warning, Eff felt the need to ask something. "D-boy? Why didn't you kill yourself earlier?" He gave his counterpart a curious look. It just didn't make any sense to Eff why D-boy hadn't attempted to take his own life yet. He figured D-boy was more than eager to end it and yet here he was in front of him, breathing and all that.

D-boy sighed. What was the point of bringing Master up? Naturally, Mr. Eff disagreed to all it said. The idea that his Master lied as well was plausible, but it wasn't anything new to him. Manipulation was a good way of recruiting others along the simple route, but unlike being stringed along Mr. Eff's lies, following Master came with reward.

He wasn't exactly pleased with Mr. Eff's stress on the subject of wanting him to be happy; as it dampened his desperate attempts at making D-boy believe him again. It wasn't like it was D-boy's fault, but it became evident he wasn't aware of that...

Once again, the rare smirk graced D-boy's features. "I did." He replied, walking towards the younger one. "It doesn't matter if I _want _to obey Master or not, it's the only one able to pull the strings. What it says, goes, and Master says that you have to die." Which he really did appreciate Mr. Eff claims on being so accepting of... Even if he wasn't too vocal on it. He cocked his head to the side and gazed at the other, before brushing back his mass of curls to reveal his burnt skin, and the large bullet hole within his head. "If you don't, I _can't."_

Eff's eyes widened upon seeing the wound on D-boy's head. He almost wanted to touch it to see if it was real. It looked so similar to Nny's wound though, Eff was more than convinced that it was. His eyes then narrowed into a glare. He wasn't exactly glaring at D-boy, but he was indeed angry at their Master. How _dare _it deny D-boy his death! Death was the only thing he wanted, and Eff was pissed that D-boy couldn't have it!

Eff closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He didn't want to accidently yell at his companion. "Well, then, in a way, you lied to me D-boy. You said you didn't want to kill me, but if you have to kill me to die, then you do indeed want to kill me." Eff told D-boy. "And what I said earlier still stands..." He paused, slowly taking D-boy's hands into his. Oh, it would be nice to just hold hands with his counterpart, but D-boy wanted to die, and if anyone was going to make sure that D-boy was going to get what he wanted, it was Eff. He lifted his hands to his neck, wrapping them around it properly. "Your hands were a little too high last time I think." He informed his companion. "So please, end my life if it means you can end yours." Eff looked D-boy straight in the eye to let him know he was completely serious and genuine about this, but there was also a hint of fear.

Internally, a part of him was screaming at him for throwing away his life like this. It hadn't been exactly easy to get to this point after all! Death was never something Eff wanted, and returning to the wall and facing his Master was his biggest fear. But... _but... _he loved D-boy. As long as his counterpart knew that when he departed, Eff would be content. Eff didn't want D-boy to leave thinking that he had been lying to him all along. Eff loved D-boy, he actually did! And if dying proved it; if dying will give D-boy the power to end his own existence, then Eff really didn't have much of a choice. He will die for D-boy's sake.

A frown tugged at D-boy's mouth as Mr. Eff spoke, though he knew that was correct. He was going to do anything to finally rid this world of himself, but he was awaiting for Mr. Eff's claim on accepting his fate to turn out false with each passing moment. He kept readying himself for some sort of counterattack, and flinched when Mr. Eff grabbed ahold of his hands. Though despite his high expectations, he appeared to be proven wrong.

He took D-boy's hands and wrapped them around his own neck, and _instructed _him on what to do! He was baffled at this gesture, and looked directly at him to find their eyes meeting again. It seemed Mr. Eff wasn't attempting to lure him in.

If he was, this was an incredibly stupid way to go about it, but if he wasn't, then that meant...

"So... this isn't another ploy to misguide me? This is your real decision?" He asked. This would be a big thing for Mr. Eff; he really would be throwing everything away, just for D-boy. "... At the risk of changing your judgment on this, you know I can't stop whatever Master might do to you, right?" Saying this had a lot of potential of scaring Mr. Eff away from the idea, but he felt he needed to know. After what Master did to him, at least some preparation was worth mentioning, if he was going through this willingly. D-boy didn't know what Master would do, but he was going to take that chance. His hands were already on the other's neck again, after all.

Eff lowered his arms back to his sides and stood still, expecting D-boy to immediately start choking him. After all, this was a once in an existence opportunity. Eff wouldn't just throw his life away for anyone! D-boy was the exception. He hoped that D-boy would get on with it soon, so it will all be over quickly.

Instead of choking him though, D-boy started to question him. This made Eff a little irritated and impatient. If D-boy really wanted to know, even after going as far as putting his counterpart's hands around his neck, if Eff was being untruthful, Eff would have to give him an answer. "I don't care!" Eff told him. "I don't care what will happen to me! I don't care what Master will do to me when I return to the wall!" He paused for a moment, looking like he was holding back some tears. He did actually care, but not enough to move out of D-boy's grasp. He was determined to die for his dear companion. "A-all I care about... is that you get what you want. There's no way we can both be happy, so I'm letting you kill me so you can die. I mean, if one of us deserved to get what they wanted, it would be you..." Eff then frowned and glanced away. "But this doesn't mean that I'm not afraid..." He shamefully admitted. Hopefully telling D-boy this wouldn't discourage him from killing him. But maybe it will help to convince D-boy that Eff was indeed being honest with him.

That was all the evidence D-boy really needed, as he couldn't imagine anything else left to prove. Mr. Eff couldn't possibly benefit from this, so his words had to be honest. He _was _telling the truth. D-boy slid his hands away from around his neck for the time being, and carefully moved them around his arms, before pulling him into a light embrace. He rested his head on Mr. Eff's good shoulder, and held him close, attempting to comfort his frightened companion. "I'm so fucking sorry about all of this. I wished for us to go our separate ways, but it seems we always have to make unwanted sacrifices. So... thank you for yours, despite all I've said. It's not in vain." He spoke, as softly as he could. "Believe me on this, that you have no idea how _happy _you've made me."

His anger from before had subsided. Either he finally exhausted himself again, or there was no need for it. For once, it appeared to be the latter. Trusting his counterpart was hard, but Mr. Eff giving up his whole life, whatever was left of it, was by far harder. Thank you just didn't seem to cut it, but those feeble words were all he had left to give. He hoped his happiness really would be enough to pay the other back for D-boy's deeds.

Eff gave D-boy a confused look when he felt his hands move away from his neck. This was something he hadn't expected; his companion was now holding him close in a gentle embrace. At first Eff was stunned. He neither moved nor spoke. Soon getting over the surprise, he slowly wrapped his arms around D-boy, accepting the embrace. Eff clung to his counterpart tightly, burying his face in his chest and almost desperately grabbed at the back of D-boy's shirt. His good arm was notably stronger than his bad one. While his right hand had the fabric of D-boy's shirt in a tight fist, his left merely loosely gripped it. Silently Eff listened to D-boy speak, quietly dampening the front of his shirt with fearful tears. He sniffled and moved his head to the side. His ear was now against his companion's chest, letting Eff hear D-boy's heartbeat. Even with how terrified he was, and how close his life was to the end, this sound was more than comforting for Eff.

"It's... okay..." It really wasn't but... "I mean, you at least tried to let me have a life and... even if I'm going to die soon, I got to experience what it was like to be alive and to exist. I got what I wanted, so I am glad to end my life so you can get what you want too. But most of all... I'm glad I made you happy."

Eff wanted to just stand there, listen to the rhythm of D-boy's heart and cling to him forever. It felt so nice in his companion's embrace... But as D-boy had blabbered about time and time again, everything ends eventually. Slowly, he let go of D-boy, and then looked him in the eye. "Please just... make it quick, alright?" He requested with a sad smile. At least he didn't die slowly from his shoulder wound. If he had to die, this would have been the most preferred way to go; quickly and for D-boy.

D-boy's smile slowly returned upon Mr. Eff's indulgence in their hug, as the other grasped tightly onto him. D-boy gave him a gentle patting on the back as he felt his tears sink into the shirt's material, and nuzzled his cheek against the top of Mr. Eff's head, brushing his face against his hair. He closed his eyes and listened to the other speak, though his voice was slightly muffled from the tears and being buried against D-boy's chest.

He eased away as Mr. Eff detached their embrace and nodded at his request, placing his hands back to their former position. "I... love you, Mr. Fuck. I hope that, at the least, you get to see your dreaming moon." He said, gazing at the other with half-lidded eyes.

Love. What an experience it was. D-boy truly had underestimated it, and perhaps his Master was right. Maybe, he still was a slave to something, but it wasn't an entity, and now… it wasn't slavery.

It was servitude.

He betrayed his Master, and he was glad. Though he caused his counterpart so much pain, he still was willing to put his life on the line, for D-boy. Had this occurrence drove them mad? Perhaps, but he felt no more regret towards it. His name was 'Psycho', after all. Maybe it was to be expected.

But there was no other way, unless they wanted to wait and rot, so it was finally their time to end.

With a deep breath, he commenced ridding this world of his companion. He squeezed tightly, preventing oxygen from reaching the brain. With enough waiting, it eventually started working. The pressured areas around his hand grew paler, as did Mr. Eff's face. He could feel his heart beat vibrating through his throat desperately, but his hands refused to budge, and Mr. Eff fell unconscious.

After several more minutes, it was done. His heart finally stopped, and the second form to hold his counterpart was an empty corpse, the brain leaked of any existence. D-boy's now-shaking hands released their grip, and said corpse dropped to the floor. If he had his hat at the moment, he would've tinkered with the idea of taking it off in respect, but that wasn't important.

Mr. Eff was gone from this world, and D-boy was right behind him.

He made his way back to the bedroom, the gun still on the floor. He grabbed it and held it to the front of his head this time, figuring the hole on the side might dull it down. Determined to follow his counterpart, he refused any hesitation and pressed the weapon closely against himself, before pulling the trigger.

As before, time didn't get a chance to fade everything away. Fading wasn't how they worked; they were both loud and sudden, even if they were opposites. They were a duo, Homicide and Suicide, whatever body or lack thereof they were in. Perhaps... separating the doughboys was simply an impossibility.

D-boy loved this knowledge more than death itself.


	11. Credits

While I have written Eff's part of the RP, my dearest friend Dee should also get credit! He is Psycho-Doughboyfriend on here and LithiuMem on deviantArt. Go give his art and writings a look, but please don't look at him directly.

I would also like to thank my friend Meg for tolerating me and this roleplay while it was being written. I hope you weren't_ too _traumatized.

A better view of the cover art can be seen both on Dee's and my own deviantArt accounts!


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